In a recent reference, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that when Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide consumers with access to “broadcasting” programs through the Internet, they do not carry on “broadcasting undertakings” and are thus not subject to the Broadcasting Act (the “Act”). The Reference re Broadcasting Act, 2012 SCC 4, came about in [...]

In their recent decision in Nygård International Partnership v Canadian Broadcasting Corporations (Nygard v CBC), 2012 MBCA 8, the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) motion to strike out Nygard’s statement of claim accusing the CBC of committing a series of economic torts. The case is interesting not only because of its high [...]

Saskatchewan Essential Services Legislation Deemed Unconstitutional A Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench justice recently struck down a controversial piece of legislation that denied public sector workers the right to strike. The legislation was deemed unconstitutional for infringing on public sector workers’ rights to freedom of association, guaranteed by section 2(d) of the Charter of Rights [...]

Folks, it’s the great debate (pardon the pun) of 2008 all over again. As in 2008, the decision has been made to exclude Green Party leader Elizabeth May from participating in the televised (and widely watched) English and French leaders’ debates, to be held on April 12th and 14th. The decision was made by a [...]

A short time ago, in Canada, there were three bungling giants in the telecommunications industry: Bell, Rogers, and Telus. By many accounts, when it came to customer service and satisfaction, each was as bad as the other: they forced customers into non-negotiable and eternal contracts, riddled their bills with unexpected charges, and as a final [...]

The past year has been quite the roller coaster for libel and defamation cases here at TheCourt.ca.  Our Senior Contributing Editor, Tiffany Wong, covered two crucial UK cases here and here, as well as the titillating “Officer Bubbles” story here.  Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) also released the landmark [...]

On February 3, Juliane Kokott, the German Advocate General at the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”), published her opinion in a watershed case that could significantly impact on entertainment companies who have, until now, guarded exclusive rights to broadcasting live sports events – most notably, “football” (or “soccer”).  Though non-binding, Kokott’s official advice to the [...]

iTunes, Amazon.com, Puretracks.com, Rogers Music Store, Sympatico Music Store. For those music lovers who legally download music, these various websites are but a few examples of online sources for mp3 and AAC downloads. As part of the digital consumer experience and convenience of online shopping, previews of songs are provided: 30 second clips that allow [...]

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada heard two appeals testing the constitutionality of s. 517 – the publication ban provision – of the Criminal Code. In both cases, the Court found that s. 517 infringed the guarantee of freedom of expression under the s. 2(b) of the Charter. Opinions differed, however, as to whether this infringement was [...]

In the past two years, a number of major media acquisitions have transpired in Canada including CTVglobemedia’s purchase of CHUM, CanWest’s purchase of Alliance Atlantis, and Astral Media’s purchase of Standard Broadcasting. In response to this continuous consolidation, various media activist groups have emerged to voice their concerns and dissatisfaction. Among these groups is the [...]