The Justice System
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The Mainville Hearing: Beyond Interpretation
The “soft” issues in the Mainville Reference: being a Québec jurist, and public confidence in the courts. Continue reading
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The Mainville Hearing: Interpretive Issues
On Wednesday, I was at the Québec Court of Appeal as it heard the oral arguments in the reference on the constitutionality of Justice Mainville’s appointment. The Québec government, supported by Rocco Galati (a Toronto lawyer who had originally challenged Justice Mainville’s appointment before the federal court) and the Constitutional Rights Centre Inc. (a public… Continue reading
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Inside the Empirical Turn
A judge’s take on dealing with the social science evidence involved in Charter litigation. Continue reading
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L’Affaire Mainville: The Québec Factum
Some serious flaws in Québec’s arguments against the constitutionality of Justice Mainville’s appointment to the Québec Court of Appeal. Continue reading
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St-Hilaire on Federalism and “Modern Treaties”
Just a quick announcement of an upcoming guest post by Maxime St-Hilaire, a friend who teaches aboriginal law and constitutional law at the Université de Sherbrooke. Prof. St-Hilaire, who blogged this summer on the Supreme Court’s decision in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44, will discuss some issues left open by the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence… Continue reading
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Mainville Reference Factums
Thanks to the good offices of a friend, I have been able to get my hands on the factums filed in the Mainville Reference, in which the Québec Court of Appeal will consider the constitutionality of the appointment of a judge of the federal courts to a superior court of Québec ― and, more specifically,… Continue reading
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Unintended Consequences?
When I commented on the oral arguments in Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59, the B.C. hearing fees case, I argued that although there was a good deal of support among the various parties and interveners for the proposition that it was section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867,… Continue reading
Double Aspect 