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Articles on Courts

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Political commentators have expressed concern that Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to appoint former staffers to a committee that helps select provincial judges could politicize the courts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Doug Ford’s political judicial appointments: Good or bad for justice and democracy?

Appointing individuals who may have links to the party in power is not necessarily troublesome, as long as the process emphasizes legal knowledge and fairness, and not partisan considerations.
A flare stack lights the sky from the Imperial Oil refinery in Edmonton in December 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

How Canadian courts are taking on climate change

A recent Federal Court of Appeal decision opens the door for more climate cases to be brought before the courts. Will they answer the call?
Tents at an encampment in Crab Park, Vancouver, in August 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia’s proposed bill on ‘alternative shelter’ risks doing serious harm to unhoused people

If passed, B.C.’s Bill 45 will trample over the constitutional rights of unhoused people by ignoring shelter barriers, Indigenous rights and the need for daytime shelter
Viewed over decades, the Supreme Court’s record on religion-related cases is more complicated than recent headlines suggest. Phil Roeder/Moment via Getty Images

The Colorado website designer’s win is one of dozens of federal cases where religious beliefs and LGBTQ+ rights have clashed – and the pattern might not be what you think

Two sociologists break down how cases related to plaintiffs’ beliefs and LGBTQ+ rights have fared in federal courts over several decades.
The Sudbury 17 wildfire burns east of Mississagi Provincial Park near Elliot Lake, Ont., on June 4, 2023. (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry/The Canadian Press via AP)

Court decision in youth climate lawsuit against Ontario government ignites hope

Canadian courts are increasingly holding governments accountable for violating their citizens’ human rights by not doing enough on climate change.
Activists call for ethics reform in the Supreme Court at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 2, 2023. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Judging the judges: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges – and possibly the federal judiciary, too

Courts have no army or police force to enforce their decisions. Their power rests on their legitimacy in the public eye. How does scandal affect that?

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