Trial by jury is a fundamental aspect of the criminal justice system and a protected right under section 11(f) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for crimes carrying a maximum punishment of five years or more. In a jury trial, the jury acts as the finder of fact and is required to weigh […]
On 12 February 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) clarified the law of evidence with respect to police informer privilege in R v Named Person B (2013 SCC 9). B offered to provide a police force in Quebec with information about violent crimes and received a promise of confidentiality. This police force then transferred […]
As a general rule, individuals should be free from interference by the state unless the law specifically authorizes such interference (see e.g., R v Wong [1990] 3 SCR 36, para 28). In the context of investigating crimes, this means that the police, again, as a general rule, may only search a person or place likely […]
In this case, self-represented students sued the University of Toronto after they were expelled as a result of several failing grades and a series of deferrals to care for an ailing parent abroad. They sought damages arising out of breach of contract and breach of the duty of care.
As Simmons and LaForme JJA point out at the beginning of this decision, R v Mernagh 2013 ONCA 67 represents the third time in just over ten years that the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of the government’s attempts to restrict the use of medical marihuana. In […]
In a decision handed down on January 25th, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada dealt with a Charter challenge to certain spousal support and property division articles in the Québec Civil Code. These provisions only applied to married or civil union spouses and it was argued that these provisions were unconstitutional under section 15(1) of […]
In R v Taylor 2012 NLCA 33, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal examined whether a judge can draw an adverse inference from evidence that was not disclosed to the police or the prosecution. The majority argued that on the facts of this case it was a material error and directed a new trial. […]
Lawyer wants Insurance Act amendments proclaimed to give judges greater discretion Last year, Nadia Cyr was murdered by her husband, who was convicted and is now appealing the decision.
January 2013 saw two important family law decisions disappoint the hopes of Quebec women and mothers. The hotly anticipated Quebec v A, 2013 SCC 5 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) ruled that Quebec common law partners are not entitled to property division or spousal support upon the dissolution of the relationship. Earlier in […]
Edgar Schmidt is a senior lawyer with the Department of Justice. That is, he used to be a senior lawyer with the Department of Justice until he was suspended on December 14th, 2012 after suing the Department by alleging that it has been conducting inadequate reviews to ensure proposed legislation complies with the Canadian Charter […]