Constitutional law
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Where Credit Is Due
In a recent decision, R. v. Safarzadeh-Markhali, 2014 ONCA 627, the Court of Appeal for Ontario invalidated yet another piece of the federal government “tough on crime” legislative programme, namely subs. 719(3.1) of the Criminal Code, which has the effect of preventing judges from granting enhanced credit for pre-sentence imprisonment to offenders who are not released on… Continue reading
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Questionable Limits
Jim Prentice, the leader of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party (and would-be Premier), has proposed limiting the time provincial politicians can serve in office. Members of the legislature would be limited to three terms; the premier to (an additional?) three. The wisdom of this proposal has been much criticized. (Aaron Wherry, of Maclean’s, a critic himself, has… Continue reading
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Challenging Succession, Round 2
Yesterday, in Teskey v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONCA 612, the Court of Appeal for Ontario rejected a Charter challenge to the Succession to the Throne Act, 2013, a law that purports to “assent[] to” the changes to the rules of royal succession laid out in a British bill (and agreed to by the heads… Continue reading
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L’amour des deux citrons
J’ai déjà eu l’occasion de dénoncer les grossières exagérations et le simplisme époustouflant, le tout assaisonné d’une bonne dose d’ignorance et même de mensonge, de Frédéric Bastien, un historien qui passe ses temps libres à pourfendre le juges canadiens qu’il croit être des tyrans assoiffés de pouvoir. Il en remet dans son plus récent billet sur… Continue reading
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A Monarchist’s Lament
If you’ve read my bitter vituperations against the decisions of the Ontario courts upholding the constitutionality of the citizenship oath, which requires would-be Canadians to swear “true allegiance to Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, her heirs and successors,” you might have concluded that I am a flaming republican. But I am, in fact, a monarchist;… Continue reading
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No Big Deal?
I wrote recently about a decision of the Ontario Court of Justice, R. v. Michael, 2014 ONCJ 360, which held that the “victim surcharge” imposed in addition to any other punishment on any person found guilty of an offence is, in its current, mandatory, form unconstitutional, because it amounted to a cruel and unusual punishment… Continue reading
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A Parade of Horribles
I wrote yesterday about the decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in McAteer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONCA 578, which upheld the constitutionality of the oath of allegiance to the Queen which would-be Canadian citizens are required to swear. As I said in that post, I believe that that the Court’s decision… Continue reading
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You’re Wrong
Yesterday, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that the requirement that naturalized Canadian citizens swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen is constitutional. In McAteer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONCA 578, it found that the oath infringed neither the freedom of expression, nor the freedom of conscience and religion, nor yet the equality… Continue reading
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Cruel
Apologies for my prolonged absence. I’m back. (I think.) And a pretty good place to start is a recent decision by Justice David Paciocco of the Ontario Court of Justice striking down the “victim surcharge” imposed on persons convicted of any offence, regardless of the nature of the offence in question and ― since the enactment… Continue reading
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Nation Tsilhqot’in c. Colombie-Britannique: ce qu’il ne faut pas trop tarder à savoir. Partie 4: répartition fédérative des compétences et droits des peuples autochtones (sous-partie 2 de 2)
Retour sur le dernier billet Dans mon dernier billet, à l’appui de ma thèse selon laquelle c’est à tort que, dans Tsilhqot’in, la juge en chef McLachlin affirme que la jurisprudence de la Cour suprême du Canada n’avait jusqu’alors pas bien établi que les droits spéciaux garantis aux peuples autochtones par l’article 35 de la LC… Continue reading
Double Aspect 