Standing is a legal principle that addresses who is entitled to bring a case before the court for a decision. Although standing (in a legal sense) may sound like a technical legal issue, it is very important to rights litigation in Canada. After the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) … [Read more...]
Protection and Prosecution: Falling at Work
Introduction Just before Christmas 2009, Mr. Murgappa Naiker died instantly after falling 18.5 feet from an open bucket while de-icing an airplane at the Calgary airport. He was not wearing his safety harness. He had 17 years experience as a de-icing ramp agent and had completed updated safety … [Read more...]
The Supreme Court Changes Direction: Disability and Discrimination
The case law on disability and discrimination has had its highs and lows over the past decade and a half. A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, Moore v British Columbia (Education) 2012 SCC 61 (“Moore”), provides hope for those with disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, and … [Read more...]
Relocation Advisory Guidelines – an idea whose time has come?
Law professor Nicholas Bala of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, took a close look at 750 Canadian cases1 where one parent asked for the court’s permission to move a child against the other parent’s wishes. Even though mobility cases seem ‘rule-less’ and the decisions give the impression of … [Read more...]
Proposed Bill, Though Well-intentioned, Raises Questions
In what is becoming a quite regular occurrence, the latest Parliamentary session saw introduction of a Private Member’s Bill related to charities. Bill C-458, sponsored by Kitchener-Waterloo MP Peter Braid and given first reading in the House of Commons in late October, calls for an annual National … [Read more...]
Who Cares about Internet Law and Policy?
How familiar are these stories? “When I got to work this morning, our Internet service was down. There was almost nothing I could work on without my online databases and email.” “The place we went for holidays had no Internet or cell phone service. Wow, did I ever feel cut off from the … [Read more...]
The Confidentiality of Commercially Valuable Information
Introduction: the Cymbal Business In an age when multi-billion dollar companies struggle to survive, a small family-owned company called Zidjian continues to manufacture cymbals as it has for almost four hundred years. It controls almost 65% of the world’s cymbal market, with annual revenues close … [Read more...]
Renting with a Pet
After a long day at work, you might think it would be nice to be greeted at the door by a wagging tail and enthusiastic licks from a stalwart companion. Or to look up as you’re leaving for the day and see your feline friend watching you leave from the window. Before choosing to get a pet, however, … [Read more...]
Whatever Happened to … R. v. Sault Ste. Marie: the Due Diligence Defence
There is an increasing and impressive stream of authority which holds that where an offence does not require full mens rea, it is nevertheless a good defence for the defendant to prove that he was not negligent. – R. v. Sault Ste. Marie, per Dickson J. at page 1313 Introduction In 1985, shortly … [Read more...]
Questioning Jurisdiction
One of the great unanswered questions in Canadian charity law is just how far the federal government’s jurisdiction extends over “Establishment, Maintenance, and Management of Hospitals, Asylums, Charities, and Eleemosynary Institutions”. That is the language used in s. 92(7) of the 1867 … [Read more...]
