Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Working Families Ontario v. Ontario, 2021 ONSC 4076 (CanLII)

[63] It is with the minimal impairment portion of the Oakes test that the rubber of Bill 254 hits the slippery road of justification, causing the EFA vehicle to skid off course.

[64] The government’s own evidence demonstrates that less impairing measures were available to it than those contained in the Impugned Sections. For example, the CEO, an obvious source of insight into electoral fairness, expressly recommended in June 2016 against regulating issue-based advertising prior to the writ period. The very office charged with ensuring fair elections in the province came to the conclusion that a prohibition on issue-based advertising in any pre-election period does not augment the fairness and equality that such regulations are meant to address.

(Check for commentary on CanLII Connects)

2. R v Coates, 2021 ABPC 162 (CanLII)

[31] “Freedom of religion is subject to such limitations as are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals and the fundamental rights and freedoms of others”: Ross v New Brunswick School District No. 15, 1996 CanLII 237 (SCC), [1996] 1 SCR 825 at 868.

[32] The Charter erects “an invisible fence” around individuals “over which the state will not be allowed to trespass.” The role of the Court is to “map out, piece by piece, the parameters of [that] fence,” recognizing that people are neither wholly independent, nor indisputably subject to the decisions of government. It is “a bit of both”: R v Morgentaler, 1988 CanLII 90 (SCC), [1988] 1 SCR 30 at 164.

(Check for commentary on CanLII Connects)

3. Sherman Estate v. Donovan, 2021 SCC 25 (CanLII)

[1] This Court has been resolute in recognizing that the open court principle is protected by the constitutionally‑entrenched right of freedom of expression and, as such, it represents a central feature of a liberal democracy. As a general rule, the public can attend hearings and consult court files and the press — the eyes and ears of the public — is left free to inquire and comment on the workings of the courts, all of which helps make the justice system fair and accountable.

(Check for commentary on CanLII Connects)

The most-consulted French-language decision was Petit c. Avocats (Ordre professionnel des), 2021 QCTP 21 (CanLII)

[35] Le principe de la gradation des sanctions n’assure pas à un professionnel une sanction ne comportant pas de radiation temporaire pour une première infraction[14]. La sanction juste et appropriée tient compte de la gravité du geste commis et des objectifs de la sanction disciplinaire tels qu’énoncés dans l’arrêt Pigeon c. Daigneault[15].

[36] Dans le cas présent, l’infraction se situe au cœur de la profession. Le respect des règles régissant l’utilisation du compte en fidéicommis est fondamental pour assurer la protection du public et maintenir la confiance de celui-ci envers la profession.

(Check for commentary on CanLII Connects)

* As of January 2014 we measure the total amount of time spent on the pages rather than simply the number of hits; as well, a case once mentioned won’t appear again for three months.