In Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v Attorney General, 2023 ONSC 5197 (“CASWLR”), Goldstein J of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“OSCJ”) dismissed a Charter application challenging the constitutional validity of various sex work laws arising out of Bill C-36, also known as the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (the […]
For an overview of the legislative and judicial history of the case, please see the first installment of this contribution. In this second contribution, I focus my analysis on key takeaways relating to Goldstein J's holding that the PCEPA passes constitutional muster. Given the multiple thorny Charter issues arising out of the CASWLR decision, this […]
Canada’s self-defence laws, which were recently reformed to provide greater clarity for that defence, have stirred up new uncertainty. In R v Hodgson, 2022 NUCA 9, the Court of Appeal of Nunavut (“NUCA”) overturned an acquittal of a second degree murder charge stemming from an act of self-defence based on the multiple perceived legal errors […]
In a rare unanimous judgement, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has ruled in R v Haevischer, 2023 SCC 11 (Haevischer) that only “manifestly frivolous” applications can be summarily dismissed in the criminal law context. The decision is significant for two reasons: (1) it arises out of the notorious “Surrey Six” case; and (2) it […]
In R v Hanan, 2023 SCC 12 [Hanan], the Supreme Court (“SCC”) found that transitional exceptional circumstances did not excuse an excess delay of proceedings under s 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. Facts On December 23, 2015, the accused was charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, and firearms-related […]
Section 259(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada [Code] imposes a mandatory minimum; at sentencing, judges must apply a driving prohibition of at least twelve months for offenders convicted of impaired driving pursuant to this provision. Interpretation of the interaction between three provisions implies that pre-sentence driving prohibitions cannot be credited toward that minimum. The […]
In La Presse inc v Quebec, 2023 SCC 22 [La Presse], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) determined that publication bans established in s 648(1) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985 c C-46 (“Code”) apply automatically to judgements rendered prior to jury empanelment.
The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) applied the rapidly developing law surrounding the expectation of privacy in cell phones and police operations in R v Campbell, 2022 ONCA 666 [Campbell, ONCA]. The ONCA affirmed that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their text messages when the police legally seize any cell phone containing […]
Content Warning: The facts of the case involve the mention of child sexual abuse. In R v Chatillon, 2023 SCC 7 [Chatillon], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") delivered a brief oral judgment re-visiting a case-by-case privilege in the context where a patient makes criminal admissions during the course of therapeutic treatment. A 6-1 […]
In R v Kahsai, 2023 SCC 20 [Kahsai], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) clarified the scope of the role of an amicus curiae in criminal trials. The Court unanimously ruled that the functions of an amicus are limited by their fundamental role as a friend of the court and the accused’s constitutional rights.