Posts in Public Law.
Posted in Public Law

The first Supreme Court of Canada interpretation of the Journalistic Sources Protection Act

A former member of government charged with corruption offences. A CBC journalist investigating. Her sources allegedly came from within a government anti-corruption unit. These facts culminated in the first Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decision interpreting new ...

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In the recent case of Carter v. Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada declared invalid the Criminal Code prohibitions against physician-assisted suicide.  Those provisions made it a crime for a person to “consent to have death inflicted on him” (s. 14) and to “aid or abet a person to commit suicide” (s.241(b)).  The SCC found this blanket prohibition was a breach of the ...

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On March 2, 2013, the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 19, was quietly enacted.  This statute had been on the books since 2012 but not in force.  The purpose of the Act is to authorize the involuntary sampling of bodily fluids where those samples are not being offered voluntarily.  For example, it covers situations such as a police officer or medic being spat ...

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Posted in Public Law

On November 23, 2011, Chief Justice Robert Bauman of the British Columbia Supreme Court issued his much anticipated Reasons for Judgment in Reference re Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada, 2011 BCSC 1588, the constitutional reference concerning the validity of Canada’s anti-polygamy law.  Chief Justice Bauman found that the law is consistent with the Canadian ...

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For many people, Susan Heyes is something of a folk hero.  Ms. Heyes is the proprietor of Hazel & Co., a woman’s clothing store formerly located at the corner of 16th Avenue and Cambie Street in Vancouver.  Like many other businesses located along the Cambie Street corridor, Ms. Heyes’ business was adversely affected by the construction of the rapid transit Canada Line ...

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Posted in Public Law

This post was submitted by Lawson Lundell guest author Laura Bevan.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced on December 20, 2010 that Bell Canada has paid a hefty administrative penalty of $1.3 million and will make an additional voluntary payment of $266,000 as a result of unauthorized telemarketing practices. 

Bell Canada ...

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Posted in Public Law

The use of confidential sources by journalists – a topic first sensationalized when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate scandal – has remained a vexed issue for courts and legislatures ever since.  In R. v. National Post, 2010 SCC 16, the Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled against a constitutional right to protect ...

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This post was submitted by Lawson Lundell guest author Keith Bergner.

On October 28, 2010, the nine justices of Supreme Court of Canada issued a unanimous judgment in Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. and British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority v. Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, 2010 SCC 43.  Lawson Lundell LLP (Chris Sanderson, Q.C., Keith Bergner and Laura Bevan) represented the ...

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Posted in Public Law

One of the most highly anticipated cases in British Columbia, and likely the country as a whole, is moving towards a hearing in late November 2010.  In Reference Re: Criminal Code s. 293 the BC Supreme Court is being asked to determine the constitutional validity of the criminal prohibition against polygamy.

The reference case was initiated in October 2009 by the provincial ...

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Posted in Public Law

Proponents of the anti-Harmonized Sales Tax ("HST") petition (the "Petition") have described the exercise under the Recall and Initiative Act (the "RIA") as "grass roots democracy" in action.  By taking to the streets and shopping malls of the province, former premier Bill Vander Zalm and his team collected over 700,000 signatures in support of the Petition and on ...

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This blog is authored by members of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. We follow new and interesting issues emerging in the legal and business communities. The wide range of experience among the members of our litigation group will provide a diverse and insightful examination of current legal trends and topics. Our goal is to provide a source of valuable information and insight on a wide variety of matters for our readers.

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