Just as we were preparing the final touches to this issue of LawNow, my editorial assistant reminded me that we did not have a Viewpoint column. Perhaps I can blame the lead-up to summer time that this omission had slipped my notice. However, we were handed a gift by the Supreme Court of Canada on … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Reins in Social Credit
The Reference Re Alberta Statutes case of 1938 (Reference Re Alberta Statutes - The Bank Taxation Act; The Credit of Alberta Regulation Act; and the Accurate News and Information Act, [1938] SCR 100 ) has been written about elsewhere but this monumental decision of the Supreme Court continues to … [Read more...]
The Increasing Importance of Reference Decisions in Canadian Law
Over the past several years, there have been a number of very significant reference decisions that have and will affect Canada’s legal landscape. A reference case is different than a regular civil or criminal case that involves litigating parties. In a reference, the federal or provincial … [Read more...]
Landmark Cases: Cases which have changed the Legal and Social Landscape of Canada
Judgments may constitute landmark decisions in the social context of their time such as the Persons Case (Edwards v. Canada (Attorney General), 1930 ) — where the Privy Council determined that women were eligible to be appointed to the Senate — but may not seem so very startling to our modern … [Read more...]
What ever happened to … The Law of Sniffer Dog Searches: Part 2
Introduction: The Flux of Law This article illustrates how quickly and remarkably the common law can adjust when judicial principles change and when new judges are appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The common law is generally intended to endure. Judges describe what they do as not … [Read more...]
Whatever Happened to … The Law of Sniffer Dog Searches
When does a sniff amount to an illegal search? The Supreme Court of Canada recently weighed in on this question and the decision changes the law in Canada from what it had previously been. What was the law prior to the recent decision? Assume you are walking along the street or are on public … [Read more...]
Situation in the Supreme Court
An interesting and unprecedented situation is unfolding at the Supreme Court of Canada. The newest designate to the Court, Marc Nadon, has stepped aside for the time being because a challenge to his appointment has been filed. A Toronto lawyer alleges that Justice Nadon does not meet the … [Read more...]
Random Alcohol and Drug Testing as a Complex Human Rights Issue
At the moment in Canada, there are some legal cases dealing with unions, privacy and random drug testing. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently decided a case on the issue. See: Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Local 30 v Irving Pulp and Paper Mill, 2013 SCC 34 … [Read more...]
The Fight for Supremacy of the Rule of Law in Canada
The next time that your Saturday morning reverie is disturbed by the doorbell ringing and two nice persons are standing on your doorstep with a copy of the Watch Tower, you might be inclined to treat them with some sympathetic respect if you read Peter Bowal’s most recent Whatever Happened … [Read more...]
What Ever Happened to … Jim Keegstra
Our law does not regulate expressions of desire or love. The same applies to the full range of other emotions such as rage, melancholy or euphoria. Even malicious lies and deceits largely pass without legal redress – and prosecutions where they can cause palpable harm – such as for misleading … [Read more...]