Before being born again, Bill Whatcott had it rough: by 14 he was living on the streets, selling himself to older men to survive, sniffing glue to get by. His religious rebirth transformed him into an outspoken member of the Christian Truth Activists. The religious teachings he chooses to preach in this new life do [...]

In April, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) handed down its latest pronouncement on the relationship between the Charter’s guarantee to freedom of association and the collective bargaining process in Ontario (AG) v. Fraser (Fraser). In Fraser, a majority of the Court determined that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees’ Protection Act (AEPA) is consistent with the Charter’s s. 2(d) guarantee [...]

Last week, TheCourt.ca glossed a case heard at the Alberta Court of Appeal, which essentially blocks animal activists from seeking a court declaration that the City of Edmonton is mistreating Lucy, the lone elephant in the zoo. Justice Slatter, with Justice Costigan concurring, penned the reasons for judgment of the majority of the bench. The [...]

In 1997 and again in 2007, Peter Hogg and Allison Bushell wrote about the benefits of the dialogue between Canadian courts and legislatures. This concept has been somewhat of a hallmark of Canadian jurisprudence, especially in the era of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, recent statements made by the Canadian Bar Association [...]

On July 21, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in Alberta v. Cunningham. Our senior contributing editor Joseph Marcus discussed the case earlier this week. Given the significance of this case, and its contribution to the section 15(2) jurisprudence, guest contributor Marina Chernenko provides some additional analysis about the decision’s implications. [...]

Earlier this summer, Chief Justice McLachlin, for a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada, rejected a constitutional equality claim brought by a group of claimants from the Peavine Métis Settlement in Alberta. The decision offers a particularly powerful demonstration of how ss. 15(1) and 15(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms work together to [...]

It is, in all likelihood, a coincidence that the anniversary of Halpern v. Canada (2002) comes on the heels of Toronto’s annual gay pride festival, but the timing is impeccable. On July 12, 2002, Justice LaForme, for a unanimous Ontario Superior Court of Justice, released a landmark decision that would pave the way towards gay [...]

During a November oral argument about a California law that would restrict minors from buying violent video games, Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito squared off on constitutional originalism. These two United States Supreme Court justices debated whether the ratifiers of the First Amendment would have included portrayals of violence in video games as [...]

As the story goes, Mr. Salmon became involved with a 17-year-old woman, induced her to become a prostitute, and proceeded to claim the majority of her earnings. After approximately two weeks, the woman walked into a Peel Regional Police Service (PRPS) office to file her complaint. She told the officers where Mr. Salmon was staying, and [...]

Justice Elaine Adair, for the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Pratten v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2011 BCSC 656, has struck down provincial legislation that protects sperm donor anonymity. More specifically, it was held that certain provisions of B.C.’s Adoption Act and Adoption Regulation unjustifiably violated section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights [...]