There is an inherent tension in the relationship between parents and child protection agencies. Interactions often occur under the threat of litigation and apprehension. In JP v British Columbia (Children and Family Development), 2015 BCSC 1216 [JP], Justice Walker of the Supreme Court of British Columbia considered whether child protection agency workers owed a duty of […]
At issue in R v Lloyd, 2014 BCCA 224 was whether section 5(3)(a)(i)(D) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, SC 1996, c 19 [CDSA] amounted to cruel and unusual punishment under section 12 of the Charter. Section 5(3)(a)(i) of the CDSA contemplates certain conditions whereby a sentencing judge must impose a mandatory minimum sentence […]
In R v Moriarity, 2015 SCC 55 [Moriarity], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) looked at whether certain provisions of the National Defence Act, RSC 1985, c N-5 [NDA] are overbroad and contrary to section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. The practical consequences of the case have to do with […]
This is the first part of a two-part series. Part I will look at the implications of Alberta (Attorney General) v Moloney, 2015 SCC 51 [Moloney]. Part II will focus on the Saskatchewan (Attorney General) v Lemare Lake Logging, 2015 SCC 53 [Lemare] decision. Part I As a federal state, there is a plurality of legislative bodies in Canada with the constitutional authority […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has handed down another decision on dangerous driving in Andelina Kristina Hecimovic v Her Majesty the Queen. Hecimovic was charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death. The British Columbia Supreme Court acquitted her. The BC Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from the acquittal and ordered a new trial. […]
In the recently released decision Holland v Hostopia.com Inc., 2015 ONCA 762 [Holland], the Ontario Court of Appeal reaffirms the importance of fresh consideration where the employer seeks to amend the employment agreement. Where a basic offer of employment includes a requirement to sign a full employment agreement at a later time, that full employment agreement will […]
In R v Noureddine, 2015 ONCA 770 [Noureddine], the trial judge misunderstood how juries are selected by appointing static triers, rather than rotating triers per section 640(2.1) of the Criminal Code, RSC, 1985, c C-46. Facts The appellants, Mr. Noureddine and Mr. Sheridan, were both charged with first degree murder. Both were acquitted, but subsequently […]
City of Toronto v Uber Canada Inc., 2015 ONSC 3572 [Uber] is a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“ONSC”) dealing with the legal status of Uber, an interactive ride-sharing service that is disrupting the regulated taxi industry in Toronto. Justice Sean F. Dunphy ruled that Uber is neither a “taxicab broker” […]
So far, in R v Riesberry, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) was uncharacteristically laconic – in an oral judgment on the day of hearing, it “dismissed the appeal with reasons to follow.” As of now, the SCC has yet to release its reasons. Having mulled over the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision that […]
Sentence Handed Down Recently, TheCourt.ca published an analysis of how the court might rule in the case of R v SK. On November 16, 2015, Superior Court Justice Alex Sosna rendered his sentence for the now 19-year old man who was convicted for the first-degree murder of York Regional Police Officer Garrett Styles. Justice Sosna […]