Last week, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that findings made in a disciplinary police hearing can preclude the re-litigation of the same issue in a civil trial.  In Penner v. Niagara, 2010 ONCA 616, Wayne Penner discovered that issue estoppel can apply to a seemingly dissimilar proceeding. Background and Facts In 2003, Mr. [...]

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 [...]

Technology giant Microsoft Corp. has made one last-ditch effort to defend a decade-long patent infringement lawsuit against a small Canadian software company, i4i Inc.  Last week, Microsoft filed a petition (PDF link) with the US Supreme Court asking for a final resolution to the dispute.  In the suit, i4i alleges that Microsoft used the small [...]

It may be time for the National Parole Board to take its Policy Manual off the bookshelf.  This month, the Federal Court ordered the Board to reconsider Robert Latimer’s request for more lenient parole conditions in Latimer v. Canada (AG), 2010 FC 806.  Latimer, the infamous mercy killer who euthanized his severely disabled daughter, was [...]

The blogosphere is buzzing after last week’s announcement that a California judge had struck down the contentious Proposition 8, stating that the constitutional amendment violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.  The decision is a major step forward for proponents of same-sex marriage.  Likely to end up at the U.S. Supreme [...]

Iranian-born Canadian Ali Tahmourpour has finally found success with respect to his discrimination complaint at the Federal Court of Appeal (2010 FCA 192). Last week, a panel of three justices decided that, ten years ago, Tahmourpour was dismissed from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) as a result of of racial and religious discrimination. Tahmourpour [...]

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 [...]

As most readers are likely aware, Omar Khadr has been held at the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay as an enemy combatant since 2002. His trial before a US military commission is scheduled for August 10 of this year. He is charged with five offences: murder in the violation of the law of war, attempted [...]

Last week the SCC released its decision in R. v. Conway, 2010 SCC 22. At issue 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 provisions and [...]

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 [...]