Earlier this summer, charity and not-for-profit law hit a milestone in Canada Without Poverty v Attorney General of Canada, 2018 ONSC 4147 [Canada Without Poverty], when Justice Edward Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”) ruled that s 149.1(6.2) of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 [ITA] is an unconstitutional violation of charities’ […]
Political protest is undeniably an essential right in a free and democratic society, but constitutional protection of that right is not absolute; acts and threats of violence, which serve to stymie rather than foster political debate, are not protected under s. 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In its August 2017 decision, […]
In the case of BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association v British Columbia (AG), 2017 SCC 6, the Supreme Court once again wrestled with the uniquely Canadian issue of limiting election advertising. The appellant was a non-profit from Vancouver named the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (“the Association”). Its mandate is to […]
Election financing law reform was a hot topic in several Canadian provinces throughout 2016. The trend looks likely to continue through 2017. On October 11, 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) heard a challenge to British Columbia’s Elections Act, RSBC 1996, c 106 [EA]. Closer to home, new election financing rules came into effect […]
In the spring of 2012, thousands of students in Quebec took to the streets to protest proposed increases in university tuition fees. Student organizations held votes opposing the increases and declared that students were “on strike.” Students formed picket lines at many institutions that prevented other students and professors from accessing buildings. Some individuals turned […]
The tragic suicide of Rahtaeh Parsons as a result of relentless cyber-bullying in 2013 elicited the sympathy and concern of not just Canadians but also the international community. Only three weeks after her death, the Nova Scotia legislature enacted the Cyber-safety Act, SNS 2013, c 2 [CSA]. The CSA aimed to address cyberbullying and was […]
These days, the pen (or, perhaps, the keyboard) is truly mightier than the sword. Pens shape public perception, and that power endures beyond borders and beyond lifetimes in our digital age of information. But as the adage goes, with great power comes great responsibility. The international media frenzy surrounding the Rob Ford saga has intensified […]
Trial Decision Bedford v Canada, 2010 ONSC 4264, was a constitutional challenge to several Criminal Code provisions prohibiting operation of brothels, criminalizing persons who live on the avails of prostitution, and prohibiting public communication for the purpose of engaging in prostitution [s. 210, 212(1)(j) and 213(1)(c) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46]. Himel J. found that the impugned […]
For many Internet users, the year started off inauspiciously. SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives. It swiftly put websites out of business and people all over the world protested online and on the streets. The United States Supreme Court, rather quietly, came out with their decision […]
In their recent decision in Nygård International Partnership v Canadian Broadcasting Corporations (Nygard v CBC), 2012 MBCA 8, the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) motion to strike out Nygard’s statement of claim accusing the CBC of committing a series of economic torts. The case is interesting not only because of its high […]