Constitutional law

October 14, 2014

What to Thump

This morning the Supreme Court heard the oral argument in Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay (Ville de), a case on the validity, under the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms of a municipal by-law authorizing the mayor and those municipal councillors who wish it to publicly read a prayer just prior to the official… Continue reading

Constitutional law, Law and Religion, Political philosophy

laïcité, neutrality, prayer, prière, Québec, religion, secularism
October 13, 2014

Pistes de réflexion

Dans mon billet de vendredi, j’ai discuté de la complexité de la pondération du droit à l’image et à la vie privée et de celui à la liberté d’expression et à l’information dans le contexte de la publication d’une photo d’une personne sans le consentement de celle-ci. Comme je l’ai expliqué, je crois que les… Continue reading

Constitutional law, New Technologies

droit à l’image, Facebook, freedom of expression, liberté d’expression, médias sociaux, photography, privacy, social media, vie privée
October 10, 2014

Une image et mille maux

Le jugement de la Cour supérieure du Québec dans Hammedi c. Cristea, 2014 QCCS 4564, condamnant un journaliste à payer 7000$ de dommages et intérêts à un couple dont il avait, sans son consentement, pris et publié la photo parce que la dame portait un niqab suscite beaucoup de controverse. Éloïse Gratton a, fort poliment, suggéré… Continue reading

Constitutional law

droit à l’image, freedom of expression, liberté d’expression, photography, privacy, Québec, vie privée
October 8, 2014

The Shootout

This morning the Supreme Court heard the oral argument regarding Québec’s demand for the long-gun registry data which the federal government wants to destroy, pursuant to the legislation which abolished the registry two years ago. I have uploaded a very rough (and probably somewhat incomplete) transcript of the argument here. In this post, I will summarize… Continue reading

Constitutional law, Federalism, Gun-registry litigation

co-operative federalism, Québec
October 2, 2014

Neither Here Nor There

I have summarized the Supreme Court’s decision in Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59, the B.C. hearing fees case, here. Over a furious dissent by Justice Rothstein, the Court held that while provinces can impose some hearing fees, the fees cannot constitutionally result in “undue hardship” on litigants, preventing them… Continue reading

Constitutional law, The Justice System

access to justice, democracy, hearing fees, political ignorance, Rule of Law, underlying principles
October 2, 2014

For Sale, at the Right Price

This morning, the Supreme Court of Canada has released its judgment in Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59, the B.C. hearing fees case. A five-judge majority led by the Chief Justice holds that although a province can, in principle, impose some form of fees for access to courts,… Continue reading

Constitutional law, The Justice System

access to justice, hearing fees, inherent jurisdiction, Rule of Law, underlying principles
September 29, 2014

Permanent Campaign or Permanent Censorship?

Richard Pildes has an interesting post over at the Election Law Blog, discussing Michael Ignatieff’s take on the “circumvention” of election campaign spending limits by the Conservative Party of Canada in their “permanent campaign” which, Prof. Ignatieff believes (and, in fairness to him, so do many others), destroyed him as a potential Prime Minister. The “permanent… Continue reading

Constitutional law, Law of Democracy

campaign spending, election law, freedom of expression, permanent campaign, political parties, politics
September 28, 2014

More Dead than Ever

While the Supreme Court is getting ready for the oral argument in Québec’s challenge to the abolition of the long-gun registry by the federal government (set for October 8), a different challenge to the constitutionality of the Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act was dismissed by Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice earlier this month in Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic… Continue reading

Constitutional law, Criminal Law/Policy, Gun-registry litigation

Charter, equality, evidence, judicial review, security of the person
September 25, 2014

Missing Blueprints

Last week, in a series of decisions headlined by Bank of Montreal v. Marcotte, 2014 SCC 55, the Supreme Court confirmed the commitment to making provincial and federal laws operate side by side, in the name of co-operative federalism, which has been a staple of its federalism jurisprudence in recent years. When the Court had last… Continue reading

Constitutional law, Federalism

banking, consumer protection, disclosure, inter-jurisdictional immunities, paramountcy
September 22, 2014

Not Too Late

Back in February, I wrote about the Court of Québec’s judgment in R. v. Cloud, 2014 QCCQ 464, in which Justice Patrick Healy sharply criticized the “victim surcharge” which recent amendments to the Criminal Code require courts to impose in all criminal cases on top of any other sentence. Mr. Cloud, the accused, had not challenged… Continue reading

Constitutional law, Criminal Law/Policy

appellate litigation, Charter, new issues, tough on crime, victim surcharge