In the SCC’s fall lineup of hearings, we have in the lead-off position on October 6, 2008, the case of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, et al. (32186). In this case, the SCC will determine whether the Alberta government’s decision to remove an [...]

I remember reading about an old case in first year contracts about a man whose horse lost a shoe while he was travelling to marry a rich heiress. The blacksmith he hired to replace the horsehoe did the work poorly and made the horse lame. Consequently, the man missed his wedding and the heiress married [...]

The SCC recently granted leave to appeal in Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, [2007] ABCA 160, an Alberta Court of Appeal decision that will allow the court to address a politically charged issue without attracting too much attention. Facts In 1974, the province of Alberta implemented mandatory photo-identification for drivers licenses. However, the [...]

Wow, what a week! Al Gore gets the Nobel Peace Prize as the consolation prize for losing the presidency in 2000 and the Supreme Court hands the Ontario election to Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals. Okay, so we didn’t have our own Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), but Dalton McGuinty’s victory can be [...]

The debate over the Criminal Code’s polygamy provisions is almost as old as the provisions themselves. Now, British Columbia’s Attorney General says he is considering a reference to the B.C. Court of Appeal to determine the provisions’ constitutionality. Regardless of the outcome there, experts say the matter will soon wind up in the Supreme Court [...]

It is often remarked that Canada is a multicultural society perpetually striving to affirm the equality and dignity of all her citizens. Such recognition, however, should not blind us to the reality that multiculturalism is a road upon which we continue to sometimes awkwardly stumble. This is particularly the case at the interstice between religious [...]