Students’ Rights Carved into Canada’s Copyright Regime: The SCC Affirms the Importance of the Student Perspective in Canada’s Copyright Policies

On July 30, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) affirmed students’ rights in York University v Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2021 SCC 32 [York University]. In a relatively short decision, the SCC distills almost a decade of conflict into a dismissal of both parties’ appeals, while simultaneously disagreeing with […]

Appeals Watch: Judicial Independence and the Military Chain of Command – SCC grants leave in R v Brown.

Introduction On February 2, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”/“Court”) granted leave for an appeal from the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada (“CMAC”) in the case of R v Brown [2022] CMAC 2. The case concerns a seldom traversed area of appellate jurisprudence at the SCC, touching on the appropriate relationship between the […]

R v Hilbach: SCC Holds Mandatory Minimum Sentence for Firearm Offence is Constitutional

Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) heard three cases in relation to the constitutionality  of certain firearm  offences with mandatory minimums in the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 (the “CC”). This line of cases included: R v Hills, 2023 SCC 2 [Hills], R v Hilbach, 2023 SCC 3 [Hilbach], and R v […]

Barendregt v Grebliunas: The SCC clarifies whether new evidence can be introduced on appeal

In Barendregt v Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22 [Barendregt], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") examines the process by which new information can be introduced by the parties on appeal, specifically in the context of parenting relocation applications. Examining the various interests at play in a relocation application, the SCC ultimately concludes that finality is one […]

Transfers at Undervalue Versus Corporate Attribution

Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted leave to John Aquino, 2304299 Ontario Inc., Marco Caruso, Giuseppe Anastasio a.k.a. Joe Ana and Lucia Coccia a.k.a. Lucia Canderle (“John Aquino et al.”) on January 19th, 2023 to appeal an Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision, Ernst & Young Inc v Aquino, 2022 ONCA 202, from […]

SCC to Address Indigenous Peoples’ Inherent Right to Self-Govern in Bill C-92 Reference

Editor’s Note: The author’s analysis of Renvoi à la Cour d'appel du Québec relatif à la Loi concernant les enfants, les jeunes et les familles des Premières Nations, des Inuits et des Métis, 2022 QCCA 185 [QCCA Reference] is based on an unofficial English translation of the opinion of the Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA” […]

Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in IP Addresses? SCC to Decide R v Bykovets

There have been a number of landmark cases where the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") considered and provided guidance on "the limits on informational privacy in the digital age" (Bykovets, para 1). In particular, in R v Spencer, 2014 SCC 43 [Spencer], the SCC established that police must obtain judicial authorization through a search warrant […]

A “Fresh Start” Doctrine: R v Beaver Protects Investigations from Charter Breaches

Serious Charter breaches risk undermining society’s confidence in Canada’s justice system. For this reason, courts have developed many comprehensive doctrines to guide police conduct in criminal investigations and to determine when the police have intruded too far into individual rights. In R v Beaver, 2022 SCC 54 [Beaver], the Supreme Court of Canada discussed four […]

Negligence Not Sufficient: The ONCA Narrows the Intrusion Upon Seclusion Tort in Owsianik v Equifax Canada Co

In Owsianik v Equifax Canada Co., 2022 ONCA 813 [Equifax], the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) clarified the scope of the intrusion upon seclusion tort. In dismissing three separate appeals to certify class proceedings, the Court held that negligence leading to a third party committing intrusion upon seclusion does not itself amount to the tort […]

F v N: 'Best Interests of the Child' in Parental Abduction cases

In F v N (2022 SCC 51), the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decided the question of whether or not Canadian courts have jurisdiction over custody issues involving children in situations of parental abduction. At issue were provisions of the Children’s Law Reform Act (“CLRA”) that sought to create a regime to address such concerns […]