(Disponible en français : Le droit de ne pas être importuné et les pouvoirs policiers au Canada : une mise à jour s’impose‑t‑elle?) One of the pillars of the law is predictability. Yet decisions of Canada’s highest court on the expectation of privacy and police powers are so hard to predict that they resemble a…
24 April 2020, 9:10 a.m. (Disponible en français : Les services consulaires du Canada et leur intervention face à la COVID-19) In February 2020, the Government of Canada chartered two flights out of Wuhan, China, the capital of Hubei province and the initial epicentre of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The government also secured seats…
(Disponible en français : La liberté d’expression : un débat qui se poursuit) “Everyone has the … freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” – Section (2b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Freedom of Expression The constitutional right to expression is a…
(Disponible en français : Délais déraisonnables lors des procès criminels : les suites de l’arrêt Jordan) For a summary of the Jordan decision, see Maxime Charron-Tousignant, Unreasonable Delays in Criminal Trials: New Legal Framework, HillNotes, 17 August 2016. The Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision on 8 July 2016 in R. v. Jordan “has rocked” the Canadian justice system.…
(Disponible en français : Affaire Gérard Comeau : Le commerce intérieur bientôt dans la mire de la Cour suprême du Canada) About 150 years ago, Canada’s Fathers of Confederation contemplated trade across provincial boundaries when drafting section 121 of the British North America Act, 1867, now the Constitution Act, 1867. According to section 121, “[a]ll…
(Disponible en français : Délais déraisonnables lors des procès criminels : un nouveau cadre d’analyse) Many criminal proceedings have been stayed as a result of unreasonable delays arising during trials. According to section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a…
(Disponible en français : Le rôle de la Cour suprême du Canada – composition et procédure de nomination) The Supreme Court of Canada was created by Statute in 1875 and since that time its membership and nomination process have evolved considerably. The Court acts as a general court of appeal for Canada, deriving its authority…
(Disponible en français : La représentation des Autochtones au sein des jurys et la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés) On 21 May 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in R. v. Kokopenace, which examined the constitutionally protected right of an Aboriginal accused person to be tried by a representative jury. The…
(Disponible en français : Coup d’œil rétrospectif : Le 10e anniversaire de la décision Canada (Chambre des communes) c. Vaid de la Cour suprême et l’avenir du privilège parlementaire) Ten years ago, in May 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark decision that clarified the scope and application of parliamentary privilege. The decision,…
(Disponible en français : La Cour suprême clarifie de nouveau le droit à l’instruction dans la langue de la minorité) On 24 April 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued a ruling in which it found that there had been a breach of the minority language education rights guaranteed by section 23 of the…