In Canada (Canadian Human Rights Commission v Canada (Attorney General), 2011 SCC 53, the issue originated in a human rights complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), with a claimant alleging that the Canadian Forces had discriminated against her on the ground of sex. The Tribunal awarded damages, and the claimant then applied for [...]

(The Mabior and D.C. appeals will be heard at the Supreme Court of Canada tomorrow. As the highest court prepares to hear arguments on the appropriate legal response to HIV non-disclosure, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network–an intervener in this case–has brought the intricacies of its argument to TheCourt.ca. Read Part 1 of the position the [...]

On February 8, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear Crown appeals in two cases that will determine whether and when people living with HIV are to be treated as rapists under Canadian law. In R. v. Mabior, 2010 MBCA 93, and R. v. D.C., 2010 QCCA 2289, the Manitoba and Quebec Courts of Appeal, [...]

For over a century, common law courts have grappled with the question of whether or not to recognize a cause of action in tort for invasion of privacy. In 1937, Latham CJ held in Victoria Park Racing that “any person is entitled to look over the plaintiff’s fences and to what goes on in the [...]

Ashmore Denied Leave to Appeal Jeffrey Allan Ashmore’s final attempt to have his first degree murder conviction overturned on Charter grounds failed on Thursday when he was denied leave to the Supreme Court of Canada. Ashmore was convicted at trial and appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal on the basis that his section [...]

Costa Concordia: A Sea of Suits The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from England to New York City. The ship sank on April 15, 1912. History repeated itself nearly 100 years later when the Costa Concordia hit a rock off the Coast of Italy and sunk on January 13, 2012. As [...]

Labour arbitration affords an economical, accelerated and informal mechanism to maintain peaceful industrial relations and address the economic needs of an enterprise. Arbitrators adjudicate disputes by interpreting the language of the collective agreement, hearing evidence, and determining the obligations of the employer and the union. When arbitration decisions are challenged, the legal approach taken by [...]

Though a few weeks old by now, the recent decision by the Federal Court in Poker v Mushuau Innu First Nation 2012 FC 1 [Innu] was too interesting to go without comment. In Innu, the Court set aside a First Nation Band Council election due to a series of shortcomings in the election process.

Do you like to try before you buy? Also known as the “Apple iTunes” case, SOCAN v Bell considers whether the 30-second preview clips made available to consumers by online music retailers constitute an exception pursuant to s. 29 of the Copyright Act, which states: Fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study [...]

They have done away with the nightmarish scenes from George Orwell’s 1984. They have done away with the unnerving language of insidious dangers around the corner. They have even done away with hypothetical scenarios involving round-the-clock surveillance of each other. The decision that the nine justices on the United States Supreme Court reached last week [...]