Associate Chief Justice John Rooke of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench was asked to determine where Omar Khadr should serve the remainder of his sentence. Mr. Khadr asked to serve his sentence in a provincial facility; the federal government wanted him placed in a federal penitentiary. Justice … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-2: Life and Death: Who Has the Final Say?
The doctors of a Toronto man who has been unconscious and on life support since 2010 want to cease active treatment and provide him with palliative care. They believe that he has no realistic chance of recovery. His family disagrees. Mr. Rasouli’s wife is his substitute decision-maker and she … [Read more...]
Access to Midwives in Canada
The latest Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OEDC) report shows that Canadians do not have good access to the services of midwives.Statistics released in November 2013 show that Canada has one of the lowest rankings in the developed world when it comes to the availability … [Read more...]
Coming Soon…
There will be a rare aligning of the judicial and constitutional stars next week that court watchers and BNA Act junkies will want to watch. The Supreme Court of Canada will begin hearings on the federal government’s Reference on the Senate. The Court will hear arguments from a number of … [Read more...]
Quarantine in Court
The situation with regard to proposed Supreme Court Justice Marc Nadon isn’t getting any better. Last week the government sent a reference question to the Supreme Court of Canada. It asked the Court to confirm that Justice Nadon has the right to his appointment, even though the Supreme Court Act … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-1: Student Uprising
A group of students brought a class action against George Brown College in Ontario. They complained that the course description in the College’s calendar negligently misrepresented the benefits of its graduate international business management program in violation of the Consumer Protection Act. … [Read more...]
Situation in the Supreme Court
An interesting and unprecedented situation is unfolding at the Supreme Court of Canada. The newest designate to the Court, Marc Nadon, has stepped aside for the time being because a challenge to his appointment has been filed. A Toronto lawyer alleges that Justice Nadon does not meet the … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-1: Cabinet Tries to Flip the Bird
A group of Alberta and Saskatchewan environmentalists asked former environment minister Peter Kent to issue an emergency protection order for the sage grouse under the federal Species at Risk Act. There are very few of the birds left and scientists worry they could disappear altogether if their … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-1: Test for Refugees
Rachidi Ezokola worked for eight years for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, four of them as a UN diplomat. He moved to Montreal in 2008 with his wife and eight children and asked for refugee status, claiming that he had received death threats from Congolese intelligence agents. … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-1: Defining Dads
This is complicated. R and H were in a same-sex interdependent relationship and decided they would like to have a child. D, who was also in a same-sex relationship, agreed to bear a child for them, using R’s sperm. A child, S was born and was raised for her first three years by R and H, with … [Read more...]




