Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms sets out the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. The Supreme Court of Canada (the Court) has consistently interpreted this right as protecting substantive equality. This means that laws – as well as government activities and policies – must not simply treat people the same. Instead, the effect that a law has on different… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. The deceased organ donor rate in Canada is lower than that of top-performing countries, but Canada’s rate has improved in recent years. Although the gap between the number of Canadians awaiting organ transplants and the number of… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (the committee) plays a vital role in the parliamentary oversight of federal regulations. Whenever Parliament delegates legislative authority to the executive branch or other regulation-making bodies, the committee ensures that… Read More ›
Reading Time: 5 minutes Revised on 23 February 2022, 8:40 a.m. Disponible en français. On 14 February 2022, in response to the ongoing blockades and protests taking place in Ottawa and at some border crossings, the Prime Minister announced that the Governor in Council… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Trafficking in persons is an increasingly pressing issue in global migration policy, particularly in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic that has exacerbated many contributing factors. The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as “the recruitment, transportation,… Read More ›
Reading Time: 6 minutes Disponible en français. Intelligence agencies around the world, including the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), are increasingly acquiring, analyzing, using and sharing publicly available information (see Figure 1). Given the scale of data involved, artificial intelligence (AI) – particularly machine learning… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Over the last few decades, movements have arisen in several jurisdictions around the world to legalize medical assistance in dying. Until recently, only a few jurisdictions permitted medical assistance in dying, including Oregon, Washington State, Vermont, the… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Organ transplantation surgery has saved countless lives since its advent in the 1950s. As the techniques and technologies used in transplantation medicine improve, positive outcomes for donors and recipients are increasing. Demand for this treatment, however, far… Read More ›
Reading Time: 5 minutes Disponible en français. The Supreme Court of Canada was created by statute in 1875. This HillNote describes the evolution of the membership and nomination process for Supreme Court justices over the years. Role of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. In 2013–2014 and again since June 2020, some Canadian political figures have used the terms “national languages” and “official languages” interchangeably to refer to English and French when discussing the federal language regime. However, these two terms are not equivalent. “Official” status requires the government to… Read More ›