Canada Case Law

Heegsma v. Hamilton (City)

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The court exercised its case management authority to set specific procedural directions: extended factum length to 12,000 words, deadlines for perfection and responding materials, a schedule for the respondent's motion for fresh evidence (to be heard by the panel), and a timetable for intervention motions and the hearing of the appeal; these directions balance the parties' need to address an extensive record and the efficient disposition of the appeal.

Source excerpt

• Eviction from public spaces
• Admissibility of fresh evidence
• Intervention motions
• Case management and procedural directions
• Factum length limits

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Duncan v. British Columbia (Education and Child Care)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association limited leave to intervene in a judicial review about the dismissal of elected school trustees.

• Intervenor status
• Judicial review
• Procedural fairness
• Ultra vires
• School board dismissal
• Charter values

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A.B v. Canada

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court certified this class proceeding and approved a settlement for CAF members alleging racial discrimination or harassment, appointing Deloitte LLP as claims administrator.

• Racial discrimination
• Racial harassment
• Settlement approval
• Certification
• Claims administration
• Legal fees

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Grabher v. Nova Scotia (Registrar of Motor Vehicles)

Court

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

Personalized license plates in Nova Scotia are government property with a highly regulated, limited expressive function incompatible with the open public expression protected by s.2(b), and the appellant failed to establish a s.15 breach; the Registrar’s decision and the impugned regulations were not found to contravene the Charter and the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Freedom of expression (s.2(b))
• Equality rights (s.15)
• Section 1 oakes test
• Personalized number plates regulations (n.s. reg. 124/2005)
• Admissibility and weight of expert evidence
• Regulatory recall of government property

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Ogiamien v. Ontario (Community Safety and Correctional Services)

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal (Laskin J.A.) allowed the appeals, concluding the application judge overstated the frequency, duration and impact of the lockdowns affecting Ogiamien and Nguyen and that the lockdowns did not meet the high s.12 threshold of cruel and unusual treatment; s.7 and habeas corpus claims were not established; awards of Charter damages were procedurally flawed as parties were not given opportunity to make submissions; the Superior Court order was set aside and the application dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Section 12 charter - cruel and unusual treatment
• Section 7 charter - life, liberty and security
• Habeas corpus
• Charter remedies and damages (s.24(1))
• Procedural fairness
• Prison lockdowns and staffing

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Thompson v. Ontario (Attorney General)

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The impugned Box B committal criteria and CTO regime are constitutional because they are tightly targeted, require individualized medical assessment, consent or SDM involvement, and procedural protections; the evidence did not establish that the measures are arbitrary, overbroad or grossly disproportionate to their legitimate objectives of improved treatment and public safety, so the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Section 7 charter
• Involuntary committal
• Community treatment orders
• Principles of fundamental justice
• Arbitrariness
• Overbreadth

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BC Civil Liberties Association v. University of Victoria

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal held the Charter did not apply to the University of Victoria's regulation of campus outdoor space and dismissed the appeal. The alternative judicial review issue was moot.

• Charter s.2 freedoms (expression, assembly, association)
• Application of charter s.32 to universities
• Judicial review - reasonableness
• Ultra vires
• Mootness
• Charter-freedoms

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Mason v.Turner

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed Charity Mason’s appeal, upholding findings that the search was lawful and reasonable and that only a limited s. 10(b) Charter breach warranted $500 damages.

• Charter ss.8,9,10(b)
• Search and seizure
• Arrest and detention (de facto arrest)
• Police negligence and supervisory liability
• Damages under s.24(1) charter
• Sexual/physical assault allegations

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Monaco v. City of Coquitlam

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed the BCCLA’s application to intervene at the certification stage of a class action about warrantless home inspections in Coquitlam, with leave to reapply if certification is granted.

• Warrantless searches
• Intervenor status
• Certification requirements
• Access to justice
• Charter damages
• Section 8 charter

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Henry v. Canada (Attorney General)

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed a Charter challenge to federal voter ID rules, finding they breached s. 3 but were justified under s. 1.

• Right to vote (s.3 charter)
• Section 1 oakes analysis
• Voter identification requirements
• Disenfranchisement
• Minimal impairment
• Proportionality

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