In July 2020, the Ontario Court of Appeal ("ONCA") ruled that two provisions of the Criminal Code are unconstitutional, ultimately making conditional sentences available to more offenders. In particular, the ONCA ruled that s.742.1(c) and s.742.1(e)(ii) of the Code violated Cheyenne Sharma’s section 15 right to equality on the basis of race and section 7 […]
In December, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “The Court”) granted the Crown leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s (“ONCA”) ruling in R v Sullivan, 2020 ONCA 333 [Sullivan]. In this jointly-heard case, the ONCA ruled that s. 33.1 of the Criminal Code, RSC, 1985 c C-46 [the Code]—which prohibits self-induced intoxication […]
The Court of Appeal’s (“CA”) decision in Bissonnette c. R., 2020 QCCA 1585 (“Bissonnette”), illuminated the importance of respecting Parliament’s authority to re-write legislation when a court declares a statute unconstitutional.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a number of concerns about civil liberties and the extent to which they can be curbed to slow the spread of the virus. On one hand is the perspective that rights and freedoms ought to be restricted for a time so as to limit the number of people that are […]
In October, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) released its decision in Re Shortt, 2020 ONCA 651 [Shortt] requiring the Government to fund an appropriate community living placement for Mr. Shortt to end his unnecessarily prolonged stay in forensic custody. While Justice MacPherson was clear that this remedy applied only to Mr. Shortt, and that […]
At the brink of the neighbouring United States presidential election where the recurring public versus private debate healthcare continues to wage on, the Canadian universal healthcare system figures in as either an affordable haven or a wait time nightmare—depending on who you ask. However, contrary to its popular characterization, Canada does not have a completely […]
In July, the Federal Court released a long-awaited decision on the constitutionality of the Safe Third Country Agreement (“STCA”). Although the Federal Court (“FC”) found the STCA to be unconstitutional, the Canadian government has already filed an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”), meaning that a final verdict on whether the STCA violates […]
Online communication platforms give people the tools to engage in meaningful and productive ways. They have also given predators the opportunity to connect with children without supervision, and the ability to groom those children for the purpose of sexual abuse. Accordingly, Parliament has criminalized telecommunications with children for the purposes of facilitating sexualized discussions or […]
