Author: Gideon Christian Page 1 of 2

LL.B (Lagos), LL.M, PhD (Ottawa). Assistant Professor.
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Matter Commented On: Canadian Law Societies’ Ours to Protect Campaign

PDF Version: The Political Threat to the Rule of Law in Canada

Recently, the law societies across Canada came together to launch? Ours to Protect, a national campaign to raise awareness about the importance of the rule of law. In Canada, when we talk about threats to the rule of law, we tend to glance nervously at chaos in other countries, especially the United States. The United States has provided a dramatic study in how quickly respect for legal norms can erode. The Trump White House openly vilified judges who ruled against it – accusing them of abusing their powers and even suggesting they be impeached or prosecuted. Some years back, the same president incited an attack on Congress itself. It was a stark reminder that even free societies can teeter when their leaders flout the rule of law.

A Court Divided: What an Ontario Court Motion Reveals About Race in the Courtroom

By Gideon Christian

On December 8, 2025

In Equality, Human Rights

By: Gideon Christian

Cases Commented On: Dosu v Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, 2025 ONSC 6496 (CanLII); Dosu v Human Rights of Ontario, 2025 ONSC 6509 (CanLII)

PDF Version: A Court Divided: What an Ontario Court Motion Reveals About Race in the Courtroom

In a bizarre procedural twist, the Ontario Divisional Court issued two contradictory decisions on consecutive days in the same case. Two written motions for leave to intervene in Dosu v. Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario was sent to two different judges – Justice Sharon Shore and Justice Shaun Nakatsuru – who rendered opposite rulings. Justice Shore dismissed the would-be intervenors; the next day, in a separate ruling, Justice Nakatsuru granted them intervention, setting the stage for what appears to be an embarrassing judicial outcome for the court.

#AI Facial Recognition Technology in the Retail Industry

By Gideon Christian

On January 5, 2024

In Artificial Intelligence, Privacy

By: Gideon Christian

Issue Commented On: OIPC Investigation Report 23-02: Canadian Tire Associate Dealers’ use of facial recognition technology, 2023 BCIPC 17

PDF Version: #AI Facial Recognition Technology in the Retail Industry

One summer day in 2023, I entered a Walmart store in Calgary, Alberta, and purchased three standing fans. Upon assembling the fans at home, I discovered that one was malfunctioning. I immediately decided to return it to the store. Armed with my purchase receipt, I walked to the return desk. After a brief wait in line, I presented the defective fan and the receipt to the Walmart staff. To my astonishment, he informed me that the receipt was not necessary and casually remarked, “You bought three of these today, right?” Concealing my surprise, I affirmed. He swiftly processed my refund.

Canada Study Permit Litigation – Critical Analysis of Inconsistent Jurisprudence on Financial Requirement

By Gideon Christian

On July 12, 2022

In Immigration and Refugee Law

By: Gideon Christian

Case Commented On: Ocran v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 175 (CanLII)

PDF Version: Canada Study Permit Litigation – Critical Analysis of Inconsistent Jurisprudence on Financial Requirement

Early this year, Justice Little of the Federal Court released the much-awaited decision in Ocran v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 175 (CanLII). I am not aware of any study permit judicial review litigation that attracted the attention of Canadian immigration lawyers as much as Ocran. The notoriety of this judicial review litigation was based on the fact that it was a test case that the Department of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sought to use to obtain judicial approval for its use of the controversial Chinook software in processing of immigration applications. That approval never came. But the fixation on Chinook software caused many immigration lawyers to miss a very important and controversial judicial pronouncement in Ocran relating to the financial requirement for Canadian study permit applications.

eLitigation – Training Future Litigators for the Profession They Will Join

By Gideon Christian

On December 1, 2020

In Legal Education

By: Gideon Christian

PDF Version: eLitigation – Training Future Litigators for the Profession They Will Join

Matter Commented On: Law 693 – eLitigation at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed our legal world in a way no one could have imagined. Our courthouse went from a beehive of litigation activities to a silent graveyard. Practice directives containing emergency measures were issued and activated to deal with the change. Our civil litigation system that has historically relied on an in-person process to undertake almost every task – from the filing and service of litigation documents to routine chambers applications and trials – suddenly moved online.

The legal profession was forced to adopt technologies to address administration and litigation needs at an unprecedented pace. The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the way we practice and conduct litigation, and it appears from every indication that the change is here to stay. For law schools entrusted with the “sacred” duty of educating and training future lawyers, the most noticeable response to this change was a quick transition from in-person to online (or hybrid) methods of instruction. However, it should go beyond that to include a reform of the existing curriculum to adequately prepare law students for the legal profession in a post-COVID-19 world. As a civil litigation professor with a background in legal technology, my response during this crisis was to develop a new course designed to train future litigators with skills and competence to commence and conduct litigation electronically, and with minimal in-person contact. Welcome to Law 693 – eLitigation at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law!