Irate consumers can now ignore arbitration clauses and pursue class action lawsuits against corporations even after signing away their rights to do so in a waiver. In a narrow 5-4 split decision in Seidel v. TELUS Communications Inc., 2011 SCC 15, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled that corporations could no longer preclude class actions […]
In what has been described as a “medieval-style attack on science,” Italian prosecutors have charged six seismologists and one public official with manslaughter for their role in an earthquake that devastated the town of L’Aquila. The 6.3-magnitude earthquake took the town by surprise on April 9, 2009, resulting in over 300 deaths. The prosecution’s case […]
In April, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) handed down its latest pronouncement on the relationship between the Charter’s guarantee to freedom of association and the collective bargaining process in Ontario (AG) v. Fraser (Fraser). In Fraser, a majority of the Court determined that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees’ Protection Act (AEPA) is consistent with the Charter’s s. 2(d) guarantee […]
June 2011 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the first reported cases of HIV/AIDS in the United States, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton commemorated the sombre occasion by recalling the disease’s history. In her remarks on June 5, Clinton noted that in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, “the world was shocked […]
Last week, TheCourt.ca glossed a case heard at the Alberta Court of Appeal, which essentially blocks animal activists from seeking a court declaration that the City of Edmonton is mistreating Lucy, the lone elephant in the zoo. Justice Slatter, with Justice Costigan concurring, penned the reasons for judgment of the majority of the bench. The […]
For those living in Canada without immigration status, life can be difficult. There are many reasons why these individuals ended up here. A good portion would have left their country of origin with little financial resources, sometimes because it was no longer safe for them, or perhaps because they had no prospects for a good […]
In 1997 and again in 2007, Peter Hogg and Allison Bushell wrote about the benefits of the dialogue between Canadian courts and legislatures. This concept has been somewhat of a hallmark of Canadian jurisprudence, especially in the era of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, recent statements made by the Canadian Bar Association […]
On July 21, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in Alberta v. Cunningham. Our senior contributing editor Joseph Marcus discussed the case earlier this week. Given the significance of this case, and its contribution to the section 15(2) jurisprudence, guest contributor Marina Chernenko provides some additional analysis about the decision's implications. […]
In April the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) handed down its latest pronouncement on the relationship between the Charter’s guarantee to freedom of association and the collective bargaining process in Ontario (AG) v Fraser (Fraser). In Fraser, a majority of the Court determined that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees’ Protection Act (AEPA) is consistent with the Charter’s s. 2(d) guarantee […]
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away”, the Imperial Stormtroopers— menacing soldiers of the Galactic Empire clad in all-white helmet and armour—were no longer servants of the evil Palpatine and Darth Vader; instead, they had become the potential trophy of an epic quest initiated by George Lucas, the creator of the Star […]