In a startling decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has found Alberta’s Personal Information Privacy Act to be unconstitutional and therefore invalid. The case involved persons who were photographed crossing a picket line. A nearby sign warned that the striking union might post the pictures on a … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-2: On Second Thought…
An Ontario judge convicted a man of a firearm offence. However, at the sentencing hearing three months later, he announced that he had changed his mind. He stated: “To convict Mr. Griffith raises the risk of a grave injustice. The Crown has presented a strong case, but I can no longer say in good … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-2: The Environment, Fair Play and Natural Justice
The Pembina Institute and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association asked for a judicial review of a decision by the Director of Northern Region Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources Development. The Director had rejected a Statement of Concern filed by the two entities under the Alberta … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-2: Elderly Martyr
Audrey Tobias is an 89-year-old peace activist who refused to fill out the 2011 Census because the results would be processed using software from U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin. She was charged under the Statistics Act. She argued that forcing her to fill in the census would violate her … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-2: Where to Incarcerate Khadr?
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...]
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...]
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...]
