The Supreme Court of Canada has released a number of interesting cases over the last few months. This issue of BenchPress will look at four of them. Two are of national significance, and two reveal the profoundly personal situations that cause Canadians to access the justice system A Deal is a … [Read more...]
Much of the Criticism of Bill C-69 is Demonstrably False
“So destructive … (it) must die,” claims Licia Corbella (“Corbella: Bill C-69 is Trudeau’s bookend to his father’s disastrous NEP,” Calgary Herald, Sept. 14). A “grave danger to the Trans Mountain pipeline … This beast should be ritually slaughtered,” implores Don Braid (“Braid: Liberals’ own … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 43-2: Much of the Criticism of Bill C-69 is Demonstrably False
“So destructive … (it) must die,” claims Licia Corbella (“Corbella: Bill C-69 is Trudeau’s bookend to his father’s disastrous NEP,” Calgary Herald, Sept. 14). A “grave danger to the Trans Mountain pipeline … This beast should be ritually slaughtered,” implores Don Braid (“Braid: Liberals’ own … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 43-1
Judges are Human Too This case involved sexual interference by the defendant against a young person. The offender had pled guilty to sexual interference of an 8 year old girl, and the mother presented an emotional and moving victim impact statement. The defendant’s lawyer applied to request … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-6
Victory for Students in Gay-Straight Alliances in Alberta In 2015, the Government of Alberta under Jim Prentice passed Bill 10: An Act to Amend the Alberta Bill of Rights to Protect our Children. This Bill amended The School Act to allow students to create voluntary student organizations, … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-5
Free the Beer Case New Brunswick’s Liquor Control Act limits the amount of alcohol that someone can purchase from another Canadian province and bring back to New Brunswick. In October 2012, Gerard Comeau was charged for trying to bring back 354 bottles of beer and three bottles of liquor, which … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 42-4: Understanding Parole: Paul Bernardo Eligible for Full Parole in February 2018
February 2018 marks 25 years since the arrest of Paul Bernardo for the rapes and murders of two young women in Ontario. Following one of the longest and most highly publicized criminal trials in Canadian history, he was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and given the automatic and … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-4
SCC Stomping on Sexual Assault Myths Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) dismissed an appeal from the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”). The ABCA had overturned an Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench trial decision in a case of sexual assault. In this case, a man was acquitted of sexual … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-3
Privacy of Text Messages In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that text messages are protected against unreasonable search or seizure under the Charter. If a person has a subjective reasonable belief that a text message they send to another person will remain private, then … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 42-3: Tradition Triumphs: A New Guard for Canada’s Supreme Court
On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada hinted that it would be making an “announcement of interest” later that afternoon. What could it possibly be, many of us legal beagles wondered. Was it an unexpected judicial retirement? Could it be that the Chief Justice of Canada herself was … [Read more...]