Reading Time: 5 minutes On February 28, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to strike damages claims for international human rights abuses and Canadian torts by three former workers at a Canadian majority-owned mining company in Eritrea. In the five-to-four majority decision in Nevsun Resources Ltd v Araya, the court signalled that Canadian courts are open to hear […]
EMPLOYMENT | Bad Behaviour 5.0: Employees getting away with …
Reading Time: 4 minutes Whitford was not given sufficiently clear and detailed warnings about his misconduct, was mislead [sic] by approvals granting him leave, and was not told that failure to prepare a return-to-work plan could result in his dismissal. Further, he was not caught drinking on the job, other than the one occasion when he made no attempt to […]
FAMOUS CASES | The Constitutional Right to Marijuana in Canada: R v Parker
Reading Time: 4 minutes If a rule of criminal law precludes a person from obtaining appropriate medical treatment when his or her life or health is in danger, then the state has intervened and this intervention constitutes a violation of that man’s or that woman’s security of the person … R v Parker, [2000] OJ No 2787 (ONCA) at […]
The Law of Unpaid Internships in Canada
Reading Time: 5 minutes For well over 100 years, students in industrial-era trade apprenticeships and professions have learned by ‘watching and doing’ under the supervision of the master craftsman. Historically, there was little or no pay or benefits associated with these tutelages. They were viewed as voluntary educational experiences which benefited the apprentice and burdened the senior craftsman. Most […]
EMPLOYMENT | What to do with Your Conscience at Work?
Reading Time: 5 minutes We hear a lot today about people following their conscience. Conscience is more than mere preferences and choices. It is about one’s values, spiritual worldview and visceral sense of right and wrong. Few employees want to compromise on their deepest conscientious beliefs for their jobs. These beliefs often arise from religious convictions but are technically […]
FAMOUS CASES | Provinces Leaving Canada Part II: The Clarity Act
Reading Time: 5 minutes The obligations we have identified are binding obligations under the Constitution of Canada. However, it will be for the political actors to determine what constitutes “a clear majority on a clear question” in the circumstances under which a future referendum vote may be taken. – Reference Re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 SCR 217 at […]
VIEWPOINT | The Supreme Court of Canada Changes Its Mind
Reading Time: 8 minutes [on the Supreme Court of Canada being ‘the most progressive in the world’] I would say so, yeah, and I must say I’m very proud of that. – Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (June 2018) Introduction In an article for LawNow a few years ago, I was staggered to see […]
EMPLOYMENT | Opening the Legal Profession: The Andrews case
Reading Time: 4 minutes While legislatures must inevitably draw distinctions among the governed, such distinctions should not bring about or reinforce the disadvantage of certain groups and individuals by denying them the rights freely accorded to others. – Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia, [1989] 1 SCR 143 Introduction In the recent federal election, a party leader campaigning […]
FAMOUS CASES | Provinces Leaving Canada Part I: The Quebec Secession case
Reading Time: 4 minutes . . . a clear majority vote in Quebec on a clear question in favour of secession would confer democratic legitimacy on the secession initiative which all of the other participants in Confederation would have to recognize. – Reference Re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 SCR 217 at para 150 Introduction The possible withdrawal of […]
Charter of the French Language: Quebec v Blaikie
Reading Time: 4 minutes A recent LawNow article outlined the constitutional history and framework of bilingualism in Canada. In this article, we focus on Quebec’s 1977 Charter of the French Language, popularly known as Bill 101. This legislation raised the question of whether a provincial government could broadly regulate language across its jurisdiction, namely to mandate one official language. […]
