Introduction In light of the extraordinary staying power of the SCC's decision in Grant—the continuous discussions, winning the title of "Judgment of the Year", and nearly sweeping the "Ozzys"—we've decided to revisit the case again and ask the question: Does it even matter? Two months after Grant was released, my colleague Soloman Lam surveyed the […]
On April 1st, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal to I-Trade Finance Inc. v. Bank of Montreal. In a nutshell, financing was obtained from an innocent party through fraudulent means. These assets were then used to obtain credit from a second innocent party. After the fraud was discovered, there were insufficient assets to […]
A Very Long Deliberation The Supremes continue to deliberate their decision in a case that could "blow the veil of secrecy off the Afghan detainee affair, ex-MP Rahim Jaffer's curious plea bargain and any number of like controversies," The Globe and Mail's Kirk Makin reported this week. The case, Ministry of Public Safety and Security […]
Baltasar Garzon, universal jurisdiction's singular Spanish exponent, has been indicted for exceeding his domestic judicial purview. As noted briefly in TheCourt.ca last week, Garzon, the investigating magistrate who began proceedings against, inter alia, General Augusto Pinochet, Argentinian "dirty war" generals, al Qaeda members, suspected Basque terrorists, and the "Bush Six", has been brought to legal […]
Quebec Premier Jean Charest made quite a splash last month when his government tabled Bill 94, legislation that would require anyone providing or receiving government services to do so with their face uncovered. (See coverage in the Globe, the Toronto Star, and the National Post.) The legislation takes direct aim at Muslim women who wear the […]
House Passes Bill Requiring Bilingual Appointees to SCC A NDP private member's bill requiring that any future appointee to the Supreme Court "understands French and English without the assistance of an interpreter" passed the House last week, drawing unusually public criticism from a former justice. Bill C-232, introduced by NDP official languages critic Yvon Godin, […]
On March 11, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in Cunningham v. Alberta (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development), 2009 ABCA 239, a constitutional equality case centered on native rights legislation. The Case At issue were sections 75 and 90(1)(a) of the Métis Settlements Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. M-14 ("MSA"). The […]
Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its unanimous decision in Reference re Broome v. Prince Edward Island, 2010 SCC 11. I will not recite all of the facts in this case, as my colleague Daniel Del Gobbo articulated them fully in his analysis of the Court of Appeal's decision. In short, the […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently heard arguments in Director, Ontario Disability Support Program v. Tranchemontagne, (2009) 95 O.R. (3d) 327, a case of great interest to constitutional scholars for its engagement with issues surrounding substance abuse and disability. Specifically, the complainants suffer from chronic alcoholism as their “sole impairment” to ordinary functioning. They have […]
Last week my colleague Benjy Radcliffe commented on the Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Cunningham (2010 SCC 10) as being one where the Court, "in considering the scope of [its] jurisdiction, bites off its nose to spite its face." I would argue that this is too hasty and critical a view of the Court's […]