On February 11, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) dismissed the appeal of R v Goleski, 2014 BCCA 80 [Goleski], from the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”). The SCC found that the BCCA had correctly interpreted s. 794(2) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, as having imposed a persuasive burden on […]
A recent ruling at the Court of Appeal for Ontario ("ONCA"), Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Toronto v Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, 2015 ONCA 130 [YMCA, ONCA], held that the Toronto YMCA was not exempt from municipal property taxes on four properties to which it holds leases. The ONCA's pithy decision rests on principles of statutory […]
Minority language rights were at the centre of a recent case heard by the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal ("NWTCA"), with the court ruling that equality does not mean perfect schooling conditions. The court, in Northwest Territories (Attorney General) v Association des parents ayants droit de Yellowknife, 2015 NWTCA 2, set aside a lower court […]
In a decision being lauded by the bar, the Supreme Court of Canada held that provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, SC 2000, c 17 [PCTFA] violate sections 7 and 8 of the Charter in Canada (Attorney General) v Federation of Law Societies of Canada, 2015 SCC 7 [FLSC].
The Family Responsibility Office (“FRO”) is a division of the Ministry of Community and Social Services that is responsible for collecting, distributing, and enforcing child and spousal support payments. It has broad enforcement powers for those who fall behind on their support. These include garnishing bank accounts, suspending driver’s licences and passports, and issuing writs […]
In Scott & Associates Engineering Ltd v Finavera Renewables Inc, 2015 ABCA 51, the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”) applied the doctrine of constructive trusts to an unjust enrichment that arose through a commercial dispute. The decision upheld the lower court’s determination that the appellant, Scott & Associates Engineering Ltd., could not receive such a remedy. […]
One of the criticisms laid against Ontario's family law and succession law statutes is that they do not make allowance for people living in non-traditional relationships. The law provides a comprehensive formula for property division for married people when they divorce or one of them dies, but there is no similar entitlement for "common law" […]
Courts have often struggled to interpret the application of newly enacted law on events that occurred prior to the law’s enactment. The British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) tackled the interpretation of retrospective application in R v Evans, 2015 BCCA 46 [Evans]. This decision marks the first consideration by an appellate court on whether the […]
A Decision of the United Kingdom’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) in Liberty v Secretary of State, [2015] UKIPTrib 13 77-H [Liberty], endorsed the importance of transparency in the surveillance practices of British security agencies such as the Security Service (“MI5”), the Secret Intelligence Service (“MI6”), and the Government Communications Headquarters (“GCHQ”). The decision emphasized […]
**This comment was co-authored in collaboration with TheCourt.ca's Andreea Andrei. Tervita Corp v Canada (Commissioner of Competition), 2015 SCC 3 [Tervita], represents the first Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) merger jurisprudence in seventeen years (see Canada (Director of Investigation and Research) v Southam Inc, [1997] 1 SCR 748). It also marks the very first time the SCC […]