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. MDS Inc. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company, 2021 ONCA 594

[96] The trial judge relied on the American decision in MRI Healthcare to conclude that the resulting loss of use constituted resulting physical damage. That case, however, does not support the proposition that economic loss should be covered under an exception to an exclusion for resulting physical damage. On the contrary, . . . [more]

In 2021 the world has witnessed the abject failure of international organizations to curtail even the most grave human rights violations, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (“atrocity crimes”). The situation in Afghanistan is one case in point.

In countries around the globe, international human rights law is routinely violated with impunity. Many are wondering what “human rights” mean when politicians and diplomats toss out the term with ease while remaining reckless or complicit in the face of human rights violations and atrocities.

Canada must act urgently to match words with actions

There increasingly grave concerns . . . [more]

It seems the Tax Court of Canada added its own wrinkle to the complaints last year to the Canadian Judicial Council about Justice David Spiro’s intervention in the hiring of a new Director of the University of Toronto’s International Human Rights Program (“the Program”). (See the The Globe and Mail (“The Globe”) stories about the Tax Court here and about Justice Spiro’s intervention here).

A Faculty of Law hiring committee at the University of Toronto recommended the appointment of Dr. Valentina Azarova as the new Director of the Program. Dr. Azarova’s scholarship concerned Palestine-Israel relations. Justice Spiro raised the . . . [more]

The Federal Court of Appeal recently took the opportunity to clarify the procedure and criteria for determining whether a summary judgment motion is “appropriate”. Even 10 years after the Federal Courts Rules were amended to include summary judgment and trials, the Federal Court of Appeal noted that procedure “is rather unclear”.

In 2009, the Federal Courts Rules were amended to include motions for summary judgment and summary trials. For summary judgment, the rules (see Rule 215) provide that the Court shall grant judgment where the Court is satisfied that there is no genuine issue for trial with respect to . . . [more]

For all of the emphasis on technology during the pandemic, there are still some basic fundamentals that need to be addressed to bring the justice system in Canada into the 21st century.

In Ontario, the provincial government has commenced a process last year to “modernize” the justice system, introducing electronic filing for over 400 court documents, a cloud-based e-hearing platform, and greater use of virtual hearings. Earlier this year, they passed new legislation for further changes, with the Attorney General stating,

Justice accelerated is justice delivered. No matter where you live in our province, the growth and well-being of

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.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Des circonstances particulières justifient la déclaration d’inopérabilité constitutionnelle de la peine minimale prévue à l’article 172.1 (2) a) C.Cr. à l’égard d’un accusé qui a eu des contacts sexuels avec la plaignante avant la période couverte par le chef d’accusation de leurre.

Intitulé : R. c. Bertrand . . . [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:

• Senior Specialist, Marketing Projects (Full-time) | Calgary, AB or Vancouver, BC
  (Bennett Jones)
• Hospitality Clerk (Full-time) | Vancouver, BC
  (Bennett Jones)

Noel Semple, General Editor

The free access to law movement has made impressive strides in 30 years. It is now taken for granted that all primary law and most reasons for decision are freely available online. In Canada, CanLII has been at the forefront of this movement. Funded by Canadian lawyers, CanLII first developed a thorough and free database of statutes, regulations, and decisions. More recently it has expanded into the realm of legal commentary.

Plenty of lawyers are willing to write first-rate content for free — as Slaw has proved. Assuming that the resources necessary for editing and . . . [more]

One of the biggest gaps in the first year law student’s ability to find a legal answer is the professor’s assumption that the average citizen (or beginning law student) understands the court system and the hierarchy of jurisdiction. Perhaps I am particularly ignorant, or perhaps the paucity of lawyers in my family left me prone to mistakes on this topic. Now that I teach research, I think about the mistakes I made in my first and second year and wonder how many of my students are suffering under similar misapprehensions.

This is a common danger for a teacher; as you . . . [more]

To make clear the necessity of privacy as a context for respect, love, friendship and trust is to bring out also why a threat to privacy seems to threaten our very integrity as persons. …

Charles Fried, “Privacy,” (1968) 77:3 Yale Law Journal 475–493

Article 1: Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Whereas respect for the dignity of human beings, equality of women and men, and recognition of their rights and freedoms constitute the foundation of justice, liberty and peace;
…

4. Every person has a right to