A New Ground Of Discrimination: Rural Remoteness?
The latest intended use of the notwithstanding clause in Good Spirit School Division v Christ the Teacher Roman Catholic Separate School Division No. 212 and The Government of Saskatchewan on...
Canada
Retrospective Punishment: A Reasonable Limit on Charter Rights (R v. KRJ)
In KRJ, the Supreme Court of Canada tackled the retrospective application of criminal sanctions on certain sexual offenders. In particular, whether or not sentencing legislation could be applied to an...
Canada to Hold National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
On August 3, 2016, the government of Canada announced a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (the “Inquiry”). The Commission’s mandate is “to examine and report...
The Mandatory Costs of Mandatory Minimum Sentences in Canada
Another day another mandatory minimum struck down. In Lloyd, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a one-year mandatory minimum sentence that applied to drug trafficking offenders with a prior...
Telling the Whole Truth: Post-Assault Contact in Sexual Violence Cases
For the last 16 months, Canadians have been engaged in extraordinary conversations connected to the sexual assault allegations leveled against one of Canada’s most charming and charismatic talk show hosts,...
Abbotsford v Shantz: Housing Rights and the Canadian Constitution
The struggle for recognition of the right to adequate housing under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has not met with much success. Abbotsford (City) v Shantz is the...
Religion in the classroom: Loyola High School versus the Supreme Court of Canada
In Quebec the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports mandated that all schools, including private schools, taught a program on “Ethics and Religious Culture” (ERC). The program had to teach...
‘Toilettes’, Not ‘W.C.s’ – Canada’s Language Regime and the Boulangerie Maxie’s Decision
Earlier this year, the Court of Québec in Attorney General of Québec v. Boulangerie Maxie’s, upheld the constitutionality of much-criticized provisions of the province’s French language charter – or Bill...
A Veiled Attempt at Conformity? Recent Cases Test the Bounds of Canada’s Commitment to Multiculturalism
The boundaries of Canada’s multicultural society have been tested in two recent cases involving religious attire in public forums. In February 2015, a federal court judge struck down portions of...
Judicial Appointment of Women on the Decline in Canada and Australia
While many countries have superficially committed to the goal of gender equality with a lot of noisy chatter about women on boards and women’s participation in politics, it appears that...
Implementation of Carter will be the Ultimate Gauge of Success of the Decision
In a unanimous judgment released on February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada became the ninth jurisdiction in the world to recognize some form of assisted death. The federal...
Supreme Court of Canada Strikes Down Ban on Physician Assisted Death
In a landmark decision, on February 6, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously struck down the criminal prohibition against physician assisted death (PAD) in Carter v Canada. The Court...
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