Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. This HillStudy is the second of a two-part examination of how the Supreme Court of Canada (the Supreme Court or the Court) has interpreted federal environmental law in light of Canada’s constitutional division of powers. It is a companion piece to the… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. Environmental legislation can serve a variety of important ends. For example, it can regulate water and air quality, manage toxic substances, protect fish and migratory birds and their habitats, and determine how infrastructure and natural resource projects… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. In Canada’s criminal justice system, people are sometimes found guilty of crimes that they did not commit. These errors are known as wrongful convictions. The number of wrongful convictions in Canada is unknown. This is in part because it is… Read More ›
Reading Time: 5 minutesDisponible en français. On 30 January 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (the Court) recognized a constitutional protection of the right to strike, ruling in Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan that this right is an “indispensable” part of collective bargaining. In… Read More ›
Reading Time: 5 minutesDisponible en français. Two environmental laws. Two constitutional challenges. Two Supreme Court of Canada (Supreme Court) opinions. Two different outcomes. An examination of two recent environmental law cases demonstrates the reach and limitations of the federal government’s ability to make… Read More ›
Reading Time: 7 minutesDisponible en français. Mandatory minimum sentences are set by Parliament to limit judicial discretion when it comes to imposing punishment. There were six offences with mandatory minimum sentences when the first Criminal Code (the Code) was enacted in 1892, for… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible 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… Read More ›
Reading Time: 6 minutesDisponible en français. In May 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial in French for an accused who had not been informed of his right to be tried in the official language of his choice. The accused… Read More ›
Reading Time: 3 minutesDisponible en français. In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), an important decision about the law on assisted dying. The decision found that the Criminal Code provisions that made it a crime to help a person end their life violated the Canadian Charter… Read More ›
Reading Time: 6 minutesDisponible en français. “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 and the… Read More ›