A Quebec man had his hopes and his fortune dashed when the Supreme Court of Canada decided recently to dismiss his application for leave to appeal a decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal. Joel Ifergan scooted into a convenience store just before 9 pm in 2008 and bought two lottery tickets for that … [Read more...]
Access to Justice in a post-SWUAV Courtroom
In September 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada significantly changed the law on public interest standing. It did so under the banner of advancing access to justice. After being released, Canada (AG) v Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence, 2012 SCC 45 [SWUAV] received praise for … [Read more...]
Public Interest Standing and the Bedford Case
According to law professor Jane Bailey, inaccessibility of justice is becoming an increasingly prevalent problem for middle-class Canadians. Exorbitant fees and lengthy timelines often act as barriers for many who may be interested in having their concerns formally heard and addressed through the … [Read more...]
Bench Press 39-2: Who Calls the Shots on Treatment Orders?
A judge issued a treatment order for an accused in a psychotic state. The Crown indicated that a bed in one hospital would be available in six days. The judge ordered treatment “forthwith” at another hospital. Court services delivered the accused to the first hospital and left him in the hallway. … [Read more...]
Whatever Happened To . . . Can. Aero v. O’Malley
Ethics disqualifies a director or senior officer from usurping for himself or diverting to another person or company with whom or with which he is associated a maturing business opportunity which his company is actively pursuing; he is also precluded from so acting even after his resignation . . . - … [Read more...]
Prostitution Law in Canada: Will the Charter Dialogue Continue?
Constitutional law experts, such as Peter Hogg, speak about the relationship between the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) and Parliament as a “dialogue”. Parliament passes a law, which might later be challenged as being contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”). Often, after … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 39-1: Like hockey, Court’s ‘Mr. Big’ decision clarifies the rule book and the ‘code’
What are Canada’s pre-eminent cultural symbols? Hockey is surely a top contender. The values of the rink are deeply embedded in our broader social values. Another contender is our criminal justice system, which strikes a quintessentially Canadian compromise between individual liberty, and collective … [Read more...]
Turning a Loss into a Win
I remember the morning well: my mother had asked me to bring in the mail, and as I was sorting through it, a bright envelope with the sentence, “You Are A Grande Prize Winner” caught my attention. My heart leapt; my family just won an astronomical amount of money! When I showed the envelope to my … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-6: Limits to “Mr. Big” Stings
Police in Newfoundland suspected that Nelson Hart deliberately drowned his twin daughters but had no proof. They began an elaborate hoax to recruit Mr. Hart into a fictitious crime ring. After about 15 months of activity, it culminated in a meeting with “Mr. Big” who was presented as the head of … [Read more...]
Whatever Happened to … Childs v. Desormeaux: Killer Hospitality
Can you be held legally responsible if you serve a friend alcohol at your house and he or she then drives away and injures or kills another person? Alcohol-fueled social gatherings give rise to the issue of social host liability, both to guests and to third parties who may be affected by your … [Read more...]