(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, [...]

This post is one of two winning papers submitted by JD students at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University as a written assignment for Prof. Richard Haigh’s State and Citizen course. In its 2007 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada addressed the controversies regarding interjurisdictional immunity in Canadian Western Bank v The Queen in Right [...]

Section 7: Life, Liberty and Security of the Person in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side The claimants in (case) having failed to establish that the criminal prohibitions on possession and trafficking in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19 (CDSA) are constitutionally invalid, as discussed in a previous post, made three Charter claims, [...]

This post is one of two winning papers submitted by JD students at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University as a written assignment for Prof. Richard Haigh’s State and Citizen course. The doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity, which can be used to challenge statutes on the ground of division of powers, seeks to limit the applicability [...]

June 2011 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the first reported cases of HIV/AIDS in the United States, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton commemorated the sombre occasion by recalling the disease’s history. In her remarks on June 5, Clinton noted that in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, “the world was shocked [...]

On January 20, 2011 the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Celgene Corp. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2011 SCC 1. In this case the SCC had to determine whether the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (“Board”) correctly interpreted the Patent Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-4 (“the Act”). Technically, this issue is one that [...]

Politicians may try to claim otherwise, but federalism rarely concerns life and death. Every so often, however, a division of powers dispute arises that has considerable public policy implications. On December 22, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a divided 4-4-1 opinion in Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act, 2010 SCC 61, which struck down [...]

The battle for private health care in Canada has hit another roadblock after the BC Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Medical Services Commission), 2010 BCCA 396. Groberman J., writing for an unanimous Court, held that the Medical Services Commission (“Commission”) of British Columbia is entitled to audit private [...]

The Tranchemontagne series of cases have received some previous attention on this site. In this note, however, I want to focus on one of the more significant, if understudied, aspects of the 2009 Ontario Disability Support Program v. Tranchemontagne Ontario Divisional Court decision. [1] In this decision the Court directly addresses a growing trend in [...]