Access to Information
Does the Code of Civil Procedure Really Override the Charter?: The SCC’s Reasons in MediaQMI v Kamel
The open court principle has long been a protected right under s. 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. In 1989, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) confirmed that “the courts must be open to public scrutiny and to public criticism of their operation by the public” (Edmonton Journal […]
Only “Counsel” and “Media” Can Tweet Inside Court: A Charter Infringement?
The open court principle requires that the media is able to report on court proceedings, except in rare cases where doing so would infringe, for example, an accused's right to a fair trial or a witness's right to privacy. In recent years, social media has been increasingly used to communicate information from courtrooms to the […]
R v Vice Media : The Special Role of the Press
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 […]
Google v Equustek: An Attempt to Domestically Govern a Global Resource
On June 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released Google Inc v Equustek Solutions Inc, 2017 SCC 34 [Google] which granted a worldwide interlocutory injunction against Google Inc. (“Google”), ordering it to remove a company’s website from its global search engines. The Court’s decision in Equustek provides new tools to intellectual property owners to […]
Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v University of Calgary - Protection of Solicitor-Client Privilege
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) recently decided two cases on solicitor-client privilege and litigation privilege in Lizotte v Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2016 SCC 52 [Lizotte] and Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v University of Calgary, 2016 SCC 53 [Alberta]. These judgments solidify the SCC’s safeguarding of solicitor-client and litigation privilege, and establish a higher […]
R v Rogers Communications: Some Guidelines for Big Brother
In R v Rogers Communications, 2016 ONSC 70 [Rogers], Justice John Sproat of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice provided some much needed guidance to police and issuing justices when handling production orders for “tower dumps.” Sought by investigators through a court order, tower dumps occur when a telecom company is compelled to provide the […]
A TheCourt.ca Exclusive Interview: R v Spencer One Year Later
A New Hurdle To Protecting Our Children? A Perspective from the Toronto Police Internet Child Exploitation Unit Last year, TheCourt.ca published two key articles about the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark ruling on Internet privacy. See Jordan Casey’s summary here and Stuart Wood’s analysis here. After its release, R v Spencer, [2014] 2 SCR 212 [Spencer] […]