freedom of expression
Working Families Ontario v Ontario: Ontario Invokes Notwithstanding Clause
On June 8, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“ONSC” or “the Court”) released the decision of Working Families Ontario v Ontario, 2021 ONSC 4076 [Working Families]. The Court held that the amendments to Ontario’s Election Finances Act, RSO 1990, c E7, were unconstitutional. In response to the decision, the Government of Ontario invoked […]
A Duty to Tolerate? SCC on Free Expression in Ward v Quebec
No person has the right not to be offended. Every person, however, has the right to the safeguard of their dignity—at least in Quebec. How this right balances against another’s right to free expression was at issue in Ward v. Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse), 2021 SCC […]
SCC Narrowly Rules Mid-Election Changes to Toronto City Council were Charter-Compliant
Three months into the 2018 Toronto City Council election, a newly elected provincial government passed the Better Local Government Act, 2018, SO 2018, c 11 [Act], slashing the number of municipal wards from 47 to 25. “For the remaining campaign period,” writes Justice Abella, dissenting in Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34 […]
Publication bans should be put to the test in CBC v the Queen
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation v Her Majesty the Queen, et al. 38992 [CBC v the Queen] considers whether evidence not admitted as part of the record prima facie can be subject to a publication ban.This challenge resulted from the Manitoba Court of Appeal’s (“MBCA”) decision to implement a publication ban over a set of fresh evidence that […]
Strom v SRNA: Nurse's Personal Social Media Posts Do Not Constitute Professional Misconduct
The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the country in its revelation of the systemic frailties plaguing Canada’s long-term care (“LTC”) system. Individuals over the age of 70 have made up almost 90% of the country’s deaths from COVID-19, and in the first wave of the pandemic, deaths in Canadian LTC facilities accounted for 80% of the […]
1704604 Ontario Ltd. v Pointes Protection Association: SCC Has its Say on Anti-SLAPP Legislation
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) in early September released its much-anticipated decisions in 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v Pointes Protection Association, 2020 SCC 22 [Pointes] and Bent v Platnick, 2020 SCC 23 [Bent]. In Pointes and Bent, the Court was tasked with interpreting s. 137.1 of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act, […]
Defamation in the Twitterverse: Levant v Day
Introduction It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. – Mark Twain, Following the Equator What does harm to the reputation of a polarizing public figure entail? What is the […]
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 […]