In a bilingual country such as Canada, effective statutory interpretation demands a command of both official languages. Indeed, it is commonplace for judges and lawyers alike to either substantiate or problematize a particular line of statutory interpretation in one official language by looking to the text of the statute in the other. The prevalence of [...]

Last week the Supreme Court handed down a split decision in Montréal (City) v. Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse), 2008 SCC 48. In this post, I will consider the majority, authored by Justice Deschamps, which clarifies the implications of a pardon to a criminal offence on the [...]