Search Results for: Canada Supreme Court

JURIST Features Editor Ingrid Burke Friedman talked with Brian Concannon, a human rights lawyer and the executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti about the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti. Below is a transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for clarity. Could you please tell us more about your [...]

Danielle Smith, who took office as the new Premier of the western Canadian province of Alberta in October, said Saturday that her government is considering revising the provisions of the proposed provincial Sovereignty Act which would empower the provincial cabinet to unilaterally rewrite laws without legislative approval. The bill passed its First Reading on November [...]

Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith introduced the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act in the Alberta legislature Tuesday. The bill would empower the provincial cabinet to dismiss federal laws, programs, and policies. If the cabinet considers a federal law “unconstitutional or harmful to Albertans,” the cabinet would be empowered by the legislature to render [...]

The legislature of the Canadian province of British Columbia Friday passed the Indigenous Self-Government in Child and Family Services Amendment Act, making BC the first Canadian province to recognize an inherent right of self-government for indigenous peoples directly in provincial legislation. The Act fundamentally alters the provision of child welfare and family services to indigenous [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada Friday ruled 5-4 that banning conditional sentences for some offenses is constitutional. The case was brought by 20-year-old Cheyenne Sharma, who was arrested in a Toronto airport with over four pounds of cocaine in a suitcase. Because Sharma is of Indigenous descent, the court requested a Gladue report, which is [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada Friday declared the country’s national sex offender registry unconstitutional. Section 490.012 of Canada’s Criminal Code requires mandatory registration on a national sex offender registry, and section 490.013 requires lifetime registration for offenders convicted of two or more sexual offenses. The court found the criminal statutes violate Section 7 of Canada’s Charter [...]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the nomination of Ontario Superior Court of Justice Judge Michelle O’Bonsawin, to the nation’s highest court on Friday. O’Bonsawin, an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, will be the first indigenous justice at the Supreme Court. This nomination would fill the vacancy to be created by the upcoming [...]

A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has had a subtle but important impact on Canadian sexual assault law, particularly as it pertains to the issues of consent and fraud. The case of R v Kirkpatrick involved a man accused of failing to wear a condom during sex with the complainant against [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in a 5-4 decision that when condom use is a condition for sexual intercourse and it is not used, the person concerned could be guilty of sexual assault. The facts of the case date back to 2017, when the complainant agreed to have sex with Ross Kirkpatrick, the accused, [...]

Canadian law students and young lawyers are reporting for JURIST on national and international developments in and affecting Canada. Mélanie Cantin is a JURIST Staff Correspondent in Ottawa, and a 1L at the University of Ottawa. Canada’s LGBTQ+ population numbers upwards of one million people, and the country ranks as the safest in the world [...]