Last Friday, the SCC released their decision on Attorney General of BC v. Christie, just two short months after the hearing. Although some had hoped that this would be a shining moment for the SCC in championing the cause of access to justice, the court instead, in a short 30-paragraph judgment, rejected the BC Court [...]

A few years ago I wanted to write an article on the Supreme Court of Canada’s brilliance at “triangulation” – the term Bill Clinton used to signify coming up with a policy option somewhere in between two seemingly incompatible ideas. It seemed to me that the Court, like Clinton, constantly (and effortlessly) found ways through [...]

In a recent post on this site, Jodi Martin ably canvassed the access to justice argument that lies at the heart of British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Dugald E. Christie (case no. 31324). My own interest in Christie is perhaps less-civic minded: for me, the interesting thing about this case is that it presents the [...]

As of late, ‘access to justice’ seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. The Ontario Legislature has drafted an Access to Justice Act, and Prime Minister Harper’s cancellation of the Court Challenges Program in late 2006 raised some serious concerns about the ability of equality-seeking groups to challenge discriminatory legislation. Further, commentators here [...]