In recent weeks, American President (elect) Donald Trump has publicly mused about Canada becoming the 51st American state, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the ‘Governor’ of the ‘Great State of Canada.’ These (offensive) comments came hand-in-hand with assurances that Trump’s incoming administration would use “economic force” to dismantle the international border […]
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People, Places, and Cases: Paul Smithers Guest Lecture
The study and practice of Law cannot exist without caselaw. Indeed, caselaw, that is, the written reasoning and decisions of judges, forms the backbone of our entire legal order. Given its importance, it is understandable that law students are offered training specifically designed to imbue them with the skills necessary to read and dissect […]
Retaliatory Defamation
A copy of the article found in our Dec. 19, 2024 Beyond Law podcast with Lillianne Cadieux-Shaw can be accessed here: Retaliatory Defamation
Judicial Delays in the Civil Justice System
No one really wants to go to court to handle their problems, but going to court can be unavoidable. Cases not involving criminal or family law fall into the “general civil law” category. During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Canadian courts had 768,615 active general civil law cases, with nearly half of those cases being […]
Who Decides Where Bike Lanes Go? The Controversy of Bill 212
Who Decides Where Bike Lanes Go? The Controversy of Bill 212 Bike lanes are all the talk in Toronto this month since the Ontario government introduced Bill 212, titled Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024. Alongside the bill, the Ontario government proposed an addendum requiring the City of Toronto to financially support the removal […]
Cooperative Federalism on Trial: The Complex Rollout of the Canada Disability Benefit
As the problem of disproportionate poverty among individuals with disabilities became increasingly serious, Canada introduced a poverty reduction strategy and proposed the Canada Disability Benefit (Bill C-35) in 2021. Although the bill aimed to establish the benefit, its progress was halted by the 2021 federal election. Then in 2023, the Canada Disability Benefit Act (Bill […]
Full Answer and Defence: Making Sense of Disclosure
“Full disclosure…” This is a turn of phrase, I am sure, each of us has used at some point to inform others that we are communicating honestly and transparently. While in most contexts the stakes of offering others ‘full disclosure’ are pretty low and intended to minimize the likelihood of awkward social interactions, the […]
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
The opening scene of the classic courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men, transports its viewers into a bustling New York City courthouse. After briefly wandering throughout the building, the first-person camera eventually enters Courtroom 228. Inside the courtroom, an unnamed judge is in the midst of delivering his final instructions to a 12-man jury about to […]
Fighting Fentanyl: Are Steep Sentences for Fentanyl-related Trafficking Offences Effective?
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is described by the Canadian Supreme Court as being “80-100 times more potent than morphine and 25-50 times more potent than pharmaceutical grade heroin” (para 94). This potency, combined with the fact that the drug is both odourless and colourless, makes the risk of (accidental) overdoses extremely high. Indeed, given its […]
Educational Entertainment: Learning the Law Through Celebrity Misconduct
During my undergrad, I recall one professor asking how many students in our class knew the steps required for a bill to be passed in the House of Commons. In a room of approximately one hundred students (many of whom were Political Science majors), only several raised their hands. The professor then asked how […]
