The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision has put a halt to any legal claims that there’s no difference between corporations and people.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Jennifer Quaid, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The Supreme Court of Canada's recent ruling against a company that claimed a fine against it constituted cruel and unusual punishment will quell fears of weakening corporate law.
Members of the Sipekne'katik First Nation prepare to go fishing in Saulnierville, N.S., on, Sept. 17, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
The message from commercial fishers is that fishing in St. Marys Bay outside the commercial season is illegal and a conservation concern. In fact, it is neither.
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that courtrooms have been forced to become virtual, but is the long-term adoption of technology a threat to justice?
(Shutterstock)
The coronavirus pandemic has forced courtroom proceedings online, and what is now missing are most of the non-verbal cues used to determine whether or not those taking the stand are being truthful.
Canada doesn’t extradite people to countries with the death penalty. But there are other ways to put those accused of crimes at serious risk.
(Erika Wittlieb/Pixabay)
Canadians should know more about how our government co-operates with other countries in criminal cases. Are we unwittingly risking the lives or rights of those accused of crimes?
The statue of Veritas (Truth) is pictured in front of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa in May 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Jennifer Quaid, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
A Québec company is asking for a Charter right usually reserved for people. There could be unintended consequences if it wins its challenge to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference in Ottawa to respond to allegations his office pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
The prospect of political interference is at the heart of the SNC-Lavalin controversy. But it raises more issues related to identifying and preventing inappropriate interference.
Chief Archie Waquan responds to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on whether the government has a duty to consult Indigenous people on legislation.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
Rather than the duty to consult, governments should proactively engage with Indigenous treaties or other locally relevant treaties, agreements, laws and relationships at all stages of law-making.
Steve Courtoreille, chief of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, is seen on Parliament Hill in January 2013 after speaking about legal action against the federal government. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against the First Nation.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The headlines suggest the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against Indigenous consultation. But its recent ruling is much more nuanced and complex than that.
People hold artwork of various marine life and youth during a rally celebrating a recent federal court ruling against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, in Vancouver, on Sept. 8, 2018.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
Contrary to what some have suggested, the uncertainty over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will be drawn out.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to reporters in Toronto on Sept. 10, 2018, after announcing he’ll invoke the notwithstanding clause in his battle to shrink Toronto city council. Is Ford taking on the “Court Party?”
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov.
Doug Ford’s wielding of the notwithstanding clause is part of a broader opposition to judicial activism that has developed among right-wing politicians and academics in the post-Charter era.
A different decision from the Supreme Court of Canada on inter-provincial trade barriers could have, among other things, finally forced politicians to deal with the country’s problematic supply management system for the dairy and poultry sectors.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Gérard Comeau case was never just about beer. It was essentially about enabling Canada's domestic economy across the country to thrive. Here's how the Supreme Court of Canada got it so wrong.
Australian scientist David Goodall photographed in Basel, Switzerland, on May 8, 2018 ended his life in with assisted suicide.
(AP Photo/Jamey Keaten)
Recent stories in the media highlight the idea of suicide tourism to Switzerland. But what does that mean? How is the Swiss view of assisted dying different from the Canadian one?
Legislative issues around prostitution have the ability to lead the conversation and determine research priorities. Here, Terri-Jean Bedford makes a victory sign with Nikki Thomas, left, and Valerie Scott, right, after the Ontario’s Court of Appeal struck down a ban on brothels in 2012.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
Prostitution is now illegal in Canada. Is prostitution harmful and exploitative? Or is sex work a legitimate form of labour?
Jerry Natanine, community leader and former mayor of Clyde River, at a news conference in Ottawa in July following the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld Inuit treaty rights in the Arctic. His lawyer and co-author Nader Hasan stands behind him.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Supreme Court of Canada's recent decisions on Clyde River and Chippewas contain key lessons to ensure that Indigenous rights are recognized and respected in the future.
A polar bear suns herself on an ice floe on Baffin Bay in Nunavut.
(Shutterstock)
The Inuit town of Clyde River has won a long battle to stop Arctic seismic testing. The Supreme Court ruled the Inuit weren't adequately consulted. What does that mean for future consultations?
In a case last year, the Supreme Court of Canada grappled with trial delays.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
The idea that courts should routinely grant stays of proceedings in the event of trial delays is largely unique to Canada. There are ways to address trial delays without terminating prosecutions.