The Federal Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in Hinzman v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2010 FCA 177 is a decisive, if transitory, victory for American Iraq war resisters seeking refuge in Canada. Transcending the narrow theme of conscientious objection, the decision simultaneously provides authoritative guidance on the standards expected of administrative decision-makers, the [...]

Last week the SCC released its decision in R. v. Conway, 2010 SCC 22. At issue in Conway was whether or not the Ontario Review Board (“ORB”) has the authority to grant remedies under s. 24(1) of the Charter. As noted by the SCC, the “wider issue [was] the relationship between the Charter, its remedial [...]

In December of this year, the SCC is scheduled to decide if the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT”) has the authority to award legal costs under the Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6 (“CHRA”). In Mowat v. Canadian Armed Forces, 2006 CHRT 49, the complainant, Donna Mowat, alleged that while a member of [...]

On February 25, the British Columbia Court of Appeal released its decision in the administrative law case Taiga Works Wilderness Equipment Ltd. v. British Columbia (Director of Employment Standards), 2010 BCCA 97.  At issue was whether an appellate body is able to cure breaches of the rule of natural justice or procedural fairness committed by a [...]

TheCourt.ca is very pleased to reproduce the decisions of the Women’s Court of Canada. In 2004, this group of feminist/equality Charter activists, lawyers, and academics, decided to do something about what they saw as the sorry state of equality jurisprudence under s. 15. Their solution – rewrite the key decisions of the Supreme Court of [...]

On January 27, 2010, the UK Supreme Court struck down two UK Orders in Council that formed the entirety of the country’s terror financing and asset-freezing law (Her Majesty’s Treasury v. Mohammed Jabar Ahmed and others; Mohammed al-Ghabra; Hani El Sayed Sabaei Youssef ([2010] UKSC 2 & [2010] UKSC 5). The Court held the laws [...]

If the name Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab doesn’t ring a bell, you might know him better as the “Christmas Day bomber”. On December 25, Abdulmutallab managed to avoid the “rigorous” airline security in Amsterdam and boarded Flight 253 heading to Detroit with explosives strapped to his underwear. As Flight 253 began its descent towards Detroit, Abdulmutallab [...]

On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment on MiningWatch Canada v. Canada (Fisheries and Oceans), 2010 SCC 2. MiningWatch deals with the level of discretion that federal ministries have in determining the scope of a given project for the purposes of undertaking an environmental assessment. Writing for the unanimous Court, [...]

Two stories last week, one involving an appeal and one about a case just getting underway, showcase another delaying tactic in the arsenal of the deep-pocketed litigant: reasonable apprehension of bias. The Ontario Court of Appeal released its judgment Friday in Ontario Provincial Police v. MacDonald (2009 ONCA 805), ruling on OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino’s [...]

Based on the outcry from all sides of the political spectrum, it is no wonder that the Supreme Court of Canada took a middle-of-the-road approach in its decision in Nguyen v. Quebec (Education, Recreation and Sports), 2009 SCC 47. (A comprehensive factual background of the case was provided on TheCourt.ca in May 2008 by representatives [...]