The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a British Columbia school district discriminated against a dyslectic student when it did not provide the remedial help he needed at his public school. The child ended up in private school, at great expense to his parents. The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal … [Read more...]
What is it like to run for political office?
Recently, we blogged about Jehovah’s Witnesses standing on your doorstep. Well, there is another frequent visitor who might also be met with less than enthusiasm – a political candidate.However, they too deserve our respect and our thanks. Our system of parliamentary democracy depends on … [Read more...]
The Fight for Supremacy of the Rule of Law in Canada
The next time that your Saturday morning reverie is disturbed by the doorbell ringing and two nice persons are standing on your doorstep with a copy of the Watch Tower, you might be inclined to treat them with some sympathetic respect if you read Peter Bowal’s most recent Whatever Happened … [Read more...]
Worried about Privacy in Canada?
The uproar that followed the federal government’s introduction of a bill about new powers to demand private information from Internet providers last spring led to the shelving of Bill C-30. But the government seems poised to bring back another form of the bill in the next few months.In the … [Read more...]
What does Elections Alberta do?
Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, O. Brian Fjeldheim, and his staff at Elections Alberta are very busy people!As Sean Rathwell reveals in his article, Riding the Elections Cycle: The Role of Elections Alberta in the November/December issue of LawNow, they run on a four-year cycle.Since an … [Read more...]
How does the American electoral system differ from our Canadian system?
Tuesday November 6 is election day in the United States.This election is one of the most hard-fought and fractious contests in modern memory. The polls at this point can’t predict who will win.The result in Canada’s closest neighbour might turn on a little-known and somewhat mysterious body … [Read more...]
Bench Press: Reid This: Police Tactic Oppressive
The “Reid Technique” was invented in the 1950s by an American company and is used extensively by police forces in North America for interrogating suspects. A Calgary daycare worker was questioned for over eight hours using the technique, after a child at the daycare suffered serious injuries. She … [Read more...]
Bench Press: A Task for Solomon?
An Alberta judge had the daunting task of deciding whether or not to remove a toddler from life support. One of her doctors testified that the child existed in a state between brain death and a persistent coma, and was completely dependent on technology to survive.Her medical team recommended … [Read more...]
Bench Press: What do We Mean by Public Standing?
In British Columbia, an individual and a Society in Vancouver who have worked with prostitutes for over 30 years asked for standing to challenge Canada’s prostitution laws under the Charter. The Supreme Court of Canada said that in determining whether to grant public standing to applicants, courts … [Read more...]
Bench Press: Children and Cyber-bullying
A 15-year-old Nova Scotia girl discovered that someone had posted a fake profile about her on Facebook, using her photo, slightly changing her name and posting unflattering comments and sexually explicit references.She was successful in obtaining a court order that the Internet provider disclose … [Read more...]
