As the fall law school term wound down, I found myself thinking about Peter Hogg. With the Alberta Sovereignty Act, the notwithstanding clause and Quebec and Saskatchewan unilaterally amending the Constitution, I’m sure I was not alone. When you teach Constitutional Law in this country, it is hard not to think about Peter Hogg. Like many, I was fortunate to have known Peter and although I never took a class with him, I very much consider myself a student of Peter Hogg. I benefitted from his mentorship and his teaching for two decades, until his untimely death in February . . . [more]

In late December, Slaw received two recommended Op-Ed submissions from David Tanovich‘s legal ethics class at the University of Windsor. Today, we’re running them both. 

With holiday dinners right around the corner, family drama seems unavoidable as the strains of proximity and unresolved grievances test relationships during gatherings. This was certainly the case for u/redpanda891, who took to Reddit to after a disconcerting family dinner: “[Am I the A**hole] for calling my sister’s husband a piece of s**t because he’s representing my ex in our divorce?”[1]

In particular, the fiduciary nature required of the lawyer-client relationship aggravates the . . . [more]

In late December, Slaw received two recommended Op-Ed submissions from David Tanovich‘s legal ethics class at the University of Windsor. Today, we’re running them both. 

One hundred and eighty days. That is how long Richard Catcheway, an Indigenous accused, sat in a prison cell for a crime he did not commit. Five to eight years. That is the prison term Casey McIlvride-Lister avoided by pleading guilty. Then we have Dinesh Kumar who avoided a life sentence by taking an offer of 90-days to be served intermittently. While factually dissimilar, Richard, Casey, and Dinesh share a connection: they were . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

ACTION COLLECTIVE (RECOURS COLLECTIF) : Une action collective est autorisée contre les défenderesses au nom des personnes au Québec qui, depuis le 1^er septembre 2017, ont développé une dépendance au jeu vidéo Fortnite Battle Royale.

Intitulé : F.N. c. Epic Games Canada, 2022 QCCS 4551
Juridiction : Cour . . . [more]

When someone starts a conversation with “it is useful to return to first principles”, you know that things have been drifting a bit. The Ontario Court of Appeal recently used that expression when discussing the role of the court in labour relations matters (National Organized Workers Union v. Sinai Health System, 2022 ONCA 802). In this dispute, the National Organized Workers Union was seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent Sinai Health System from enforcing a mandatory vaccination policy pending the arbitration of grievances that challenged the policy.

The first principles the court is referring to are of course . . . [more]

Focusing primarily on smaller acquisition targets, when professional publishing, or indeed any businesses are comparatively cheaply sold to and acquired by venture capitalists of one kind or another, it is hard to imagine that the motives, both for the vendor and the acquirer, though mostly the latter, are anything other than the crudest form of money-making. There may also be, of course, the characteristically politically reactionary and not always honourable inclinations, objectives and outcomes which might prevail in that world, to a greater extent than in others. Not that there is, necessarily and fundamentally, anything strange or surprising with all . . . [more]

The U.S. mid-term elections are almost over except for the litigation from sore losers. The new Congress will be more diverse and probably more divisive. The old Congress is working on finishing up business by the end of the year, including funding the government. I’m hoping the new Congress will be able to work better together, but I am not betting on it.

The Law Library of Congress continues to post accurate and timely legal information on a variety of subjects in their In Custudio Legis blog. On November 30^th Michael Chalupovitsch, a Foreign Law Specialist at the Law . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from Nov. 17 – Dec. 31, 2022 inclusive.

Oral Judgments

Criminal Law: Hearsay
R. v. Furey, 2021 NLCA 59; 2022 SCC 52 (40038)

Karakatsanis J.: ” … The trial judge did not err in admitting the hearsay evidence on the voir dire. However, we would . . . [more]

Each Friday, we share the latest job listings from Slaw Jobs, which features employment opportunities from across the country. Find out more about these positions by following the links below, or learn how you can use Slaw Jobs to gain valuable exposure for your job ads, while supporting the great Canadian legal commentary at Slaw.ca.

Current postings on Slaw Jobs:

• Digital Scholarship Librarian (Full-time) | Toronto, ON
  (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University)
• Family Lawyer (Full-time) | Langley, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group LLP)
• Senior Conveyancer (Full-time) | Langley, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group LLP)
• Litigation Lawyer (Full-time) | Chilliwack, BC
  (Waterstone