Introduction We looked through the judicial and arbitral decisions and found ten more random instances of appalling employee behaviour that Canadian courts and arbitrators excused. The first five cases can be found in Part 1 of this article. In these cases, the employer fired the employee, but … [Read more...]
Stinchcombe and Crown Disclosure of Criminal Evidence
The Crown has a legal duty to disclose all relevant information to the defence. The fruits of the investigation which are in its possession are not the property of the Crown for use in securing a conviction but the property of the public to be used to ensure that justice is done. R. v. Stinchcombe … [Read more...]
A Not Insignificant Death: The Grass is Singing
Doris Lessing left Africa – Southern Rhodesia to be precise, to journey by ship to England with the most meagre of personal possessions – a suitcase, a small sum of money and a manuscript. It was the manuscript which would transform the life of this fearless colonial from the margins of the … [Read more...]
Bad Behaviour 2.0: Part 1: Employees Getting Away With . . .
We scoured the judicial and arbitral decisions and found ten more random instances of egregious employee behaviour that Canadian courts and arbitrators excused. Since the judge or arbitrator found that the employers had no legal basis to find these employees, employers were hit with damages for … [Read more...]
Leonardo Padura, The Man Who Loved Dogs
Leonardo Padura is a Cuban novelist, known first and foremost as one of the most exciting crime novelists of our time. In The Man Who Loved Dogs, Padura presents us with an epic, Tolstoyan novel that mostly succeeds in the ambitious goals he has set for the work. This year marks the 100th … [Read more...]
Conflict Between Parents, Part 2: Strategies to Reduce Conflict
In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the effects conflict between parents can have on their children. In this part of the article, I’m going to talk about some steps parents can take to protect children from their conflict. First, the bad news. Children are commonly negatively affected when … [Read more...]
Reminder: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt is a Pillar of our Justice System
In the post-Ghomeshi trial hoopla, many seem to question the integrity of Canada’s criminal justice system. Hashtags, slogans, movements and even possibly legislation have been the ripple effects of an ever increasing angry public after Jian Ghomeshi was acquitted of his charges. Much to some of the … [Read more...]
Interveners in Human Rights Cases
Canadian courts, even though they are not litigants, third parties may have an interest in intervening in court proceedings because the court’s judgment may affect them or others whom they represent. They often have information that they believe may be relevant to the courts in making their … [Read more...]
A River Runs Across It: Solving Trans-border Disputes Over Water
People get very passionate about both water and borders. So how do we avoid or resolve disputes involving rivers and lakes that cross the border between Canada and the United States? At almost nine thousand kilometers, our border with our closest neighbour is the longest unprotected political … [Read more...]
What’s Fair?
One of the far corners of charity law is the fair market value of donations. For economists, the classic definition of fair market value is how much, in an open market, a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would pay a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller for a property. In the … [Read more...]
