Today’s world is difficult for journalists and freedom of the press values. In the United States, President Donald Trump has described independent journalists as the “enemy of the state." Increasingly, we have seen perpetration of acts of violence directed towards journalists, such as the pipe bomb delivered to CNN headquarters in New York City and […]
When should judges grant police access to a media company’s communications with a source? What if that source is suspected of engaging in terrorist activity? In R v Vice Media Canada Inc., 2018 SCC 53 [Vice] the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) balanced the interests of the media and the state in creating a new […]
If you are not familiar with the term “umbrella purchasers,” you may very well be forgiven. In everyday conversation the term might simply be used to refer to someone who lives in an abnormally rainy place, or perhaps an individual that has regrettably lost yet another umbrella. In the legal world, however, umbrella purchasers take […]
The phrase “call an Uber” has become a ubiquitous part of modern parlance, just as the service itself has become a common feature of how people get from point A to point B. The ride-sharing service is now available in hundreds of cities around the world, and has transformed the personal transportation industry. But the […]
In Brunette v Legault Joly Thiffault, 2018 SCC 55 [Brunette], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) clarified a long-standing rule that bars shareholders from bringing a cause of action against a third party for faults committed against a corporation in which they hold shares. In doing so, the Court also reconciled corporate law principles from […]
The Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA”) recently delivered its opinion in the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act Reference, [GNDA Reference], concluding that the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, SC 2017, c.3 [GNDA] is beyond the scope of the federal criminal law power. The Act, which was introduced by Senator James Cowan, was passed by Parliament in 2017. Shortly after its passage, the […]
Introduction Often, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") issues reasons for their decisions without writing a lengthy judgment of its own. It is easy to overlook these cases as unimportant and inconsequential, as the SCC itself simply adopted the decision of a lower court. The recent case R v Culotta, 2019 SCC 33 [R v […]
TheCourt.ca has published commentary on R v Reeves from when it was heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal and most recently at the Supreme Court of Canada. This post is a forward-thinking piece on the impact of R v Reeves on the sharing economy. 2019 has arrived with a slew of upcoming Initial Public Offerings […]
People share things. They share rooms, apartments, and wi-fi passwords. They share socks, Netflix accounts, and leftovers. But what does this sharing entail, exactly? As a shared owner, what rights do you actually have? Does shared ownership allow one to unilaterally decide what happens to the shared object or thing? In R v Reeves, 2018 […]