Constitutional

  • August 19, 2025

    Ontario court to hear climate change constitutional challenge in December

    The stage has been set for the next step in the long-simmering court battle over the constitutionality of Ontario’s climate change target. Seven young climate activists will return to the Ontario Superior Court at the beginning of December to argue that their equality rights and right to life, liberty and security of the person under the Charter have been violated by Ontario’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target, and the province’s plan to reach that target.

  • August 19, 2025

    Feds announce probe into unpaid airline work in light of Air Canada flight attendant strike

    As Air Canada flight attendants have reached a tentative deal to end their strike, the federal government has announced it is launching consultations regarding unpaid work in the airline sector. Meanwhile, labour unions are calling for an end to the “unconstitutional” section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.

  • August 19, 2025

    Binding arbitration vs. the right to strike: A transatlantic tussle over labour rights

    If you’ve been keeping a keen eye on things in the backyard, you’ll have undoubtedly caught wind of the rather sticky wicket that Air Canada and its flight attendants have found themselves in. It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as organized labour: the delicate dance between workers’ rights and economic stability.

  • August 19, 2025

    Privacy challenge in DUI blood test case fails to sway Quebec Court of Appeal

    Fighting an impaired driving charge can be challenging, but it is not impossible. Obstacles often stem from potential errors in police procedures, faulty breathalyzer readings and alternative explanations for a toxicologist’s report. These issues were highlighted in a recent Quebec Court of Appeal decision (R. v. Chartrand, 2025 QCCA 945).

  • August 18, 2025

    Appeal court determines self-represented accused capable, dismisses application for counsel

    While writing these columns for Law360 Canada, I have found that a significant issue in appeals of conviction is the sufficiency or admissibility of evidence. Difficult questions often arise that challenge even well-trained and experienced lawyers. Is it likely that an intelligent self-represented litigant may also struggle when such evidential issues are central to an appeal? This was the question to be decided in the case of R. v. Moylett, 2025 NLCA 25.

  • August 15, 2025

    Ontario court upholds first-past-the-post voting system, but lawyer pledges appeal

    The lawyer representing two advocacy groups arguing Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system violates the Charter is pledging to appeal a recent finding by Ontario’s top court that the system was not unconstitutional.

  • August 15, 2025

    Murder trial jury instructions inadequate, new trial ordered

    It was meant to be a coworkers’ celebration of life for a Boston Pizza employee who had died in 2018. That celebration turned tragic when three people were stabbed, one of whom died.

  • August 14, 2025

    DEI dilemma: U.S. state bars grapple with DEI programs, language amid legal threats

    State bar leaders across the U.S. are wrestling with whether to stand firm on their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or quietly rework programs and language as they face rising political pressure and potential legal challenges.

  • August 14, 2025

    Jury instruction missteps lead to retrial in Ontario murder case

    John Wayne Pierre and Lesley Watterworth had a volatile, drug-fuelled relationship, made worse by Pierre’s jealousy over her former boyfriend. After leaving a rehab program early in 2016, Pierre resumed drug use with her.

  • August 13, 2025

    Cowichan Nation descendants successful in land claims in ‘longest trial’ in Canada

    In an Indigenous land claim case that spanned 513 trial dates, the B.C. Supreme Court has found that descendants of the historic Cowichan Nation have a claim to land and right to fish in an area of Richmond, B.C., and on the southern arm of the Fraser River. The province has noted it plans to appeal the decision.

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