PDF version: Some Much Needed R&R: Revisiting and Relaxing the Test for Public Interest Standing in Canada
Case Considered: Canada (Attorney General) v Downtown Eastside Sex Workers Against Violence Society, 2012 SCC 45
On September 21, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada revisited the doctrine of public interest standing in Canada (Attorney General) v Downtown Eastside Sex Workers Against Violence Society, affirming the decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal to grant the Downtown Eastside Sex Workers Against Violence Society (the Society) public interest standing to challenge the prostitution provisions of the Criminal Code (ss 210 to 213). We comment on this Supreme Court decision for its potential to revise how the doctrine of public interest standing is applied by Alberta courts going forward.