In the Media
The CUPE Cause Célèbre: Provinces Spend beyond what Canada’s Constitutional Drafters Budgeted For
Introduction On October 31st 2022, the Ontario Government led by Premier Doug Ford invoked s. 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”) to shield its ‘back to work’ legislation from judicial scrutiny. The legislation, known as the Keeping Students in School Act, 2022, would have terminated any on-going strike by the Canadian […]
The Slow-Moving, Silent, and Creeping Constitutional Crises facing Canada
Introduction: Recent laws passed by the Provincial Legislatures in Alberta and Quebec have reignited old, unsettled frictions about the appropriate division of powers between Canada's Provinces and Federal Government. The following article will be divided into three parts, outlining a) the post-repatriation history of constitutional negotiations, b) recent legislative developments in Alberta and Quebec that […]
Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia : Putting a Cost on Family Violence in Divorce Proceedings
Content Warning: this article has some descriptions of violence and abuse that may be triggering to some readers* Justice Mandhane of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“ONSC” ) has re-framed how family violence is addressed in divorce proceedings in the recent case of Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia, 2022 ONSC 1303 [Ahluwalia]. Previously, survivors of family […]
Crown Immunity Trumps Police Officers’ Tarnished Reputations in Ontario (AG) v Clark
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) made important strides in determining the scope of immunity for Crown prosecutors when dealing with third party interests. In Ontario (Attorney General) v Clark, 2021 SCC 18 [Clark], the SCC faced the claims of three police officers who sought vindication after several Crown attorneys allowed unsubstantiated claims of police […]
Ontario Appeals Court Ruling Against Mandatory Math Tests For Teachers
Ontario Teacher Candidates’ Council v The Queen, 2021 ONSC 7386 [Ontario Teachers] has made headlines as Premier Doug Ford’s provincial government continues their education reform plan—this time, to the detriment of teacher aspirants.
Sherman Estates v Donovan : Privacy Interests and the Presumption of Open Courts
In 2017, the bodies of billionaires Bernard Sherman and Honey Sherman were discovered in their home in Toronto, Ontario. Not only was the couple highly acclaimed for their philanthropism, but Barry was known for his pharmaceutical pursuits as the founder and CEO of Canadian generic drug company Apotex. Police deemed the deaths of Barry and […]
Black History Month: Anti-Black Racism in Land Title Claims is Addressed in Downey v Nova Scotia
Note: February is Black History Month and as a Black contributor for TheCourt.ca, I value the opportunity to explore jurisprudence that deals with an issue of Black identity in Canada So often, conversations about race and justice occur within the context of criminal law. However, the systemic nature of anti-Black racism and the discrimination that […]
Systemic Oppression in Sentencing: ONCA to Rule on Anti-Black Racism Reports in R v Morris
On February 11, 2021, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) will hear the Crown’s appeal to Justice Shaun Nakatsuru’s decision in R v Morris, 2018 ONSC 5186 [Morris]. In his decision, Justice Nakatsuru used pre-sentencing reports on anti-Black racism and the social history of the defendant to account for the factor of systemic racism in […]
Transnational Canadian Corporations Can Be Liable Under Customary International Law For Human Rights Abuses: The Phoenix Flies in Nevsun v Araya
Content warning: mention of slavery, torture, false confinement, murder, and rape Can Canadian courts adjudicate international human rights violations committed by Canadian companies abroad? Usually, the spectre of limited corporate liability within an asymmetrical transnational legal regime precludes this and allows such abuses to continue. However, in an unprecedented decision released in February 2020, a […]