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Category: Constitutional Page 1 of 75

Canada’s Evolving Right to Shelter: Region of Waterloo v Named Respondents & Persons Unknown

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On July 10, 2026

In Charter, Constitutional, Human Rights, Uncategorized

By: Anna J. Lund and Sarah Buhler

Case Commented On: The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v Named Respondents and Persons Unknown, 2026 ONSC 2971 (CanLII)

PDF Version: Canada’s Evolving Right to Shelter: Region of Waterloo v Named Respondents & Persons Unknown

On May 21, 2026, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the Court) released its decision in The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v Named Respondents and Persons Unknown, 2026 ONSC 2971 (CanLII) (the Decision). The Decision considered the constitutionality of a regional government bylaw that sought to remove residents from an encampment. Housing rights advocates are lauding the Decision as a significant step forward in terms of courts recognizing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) as providing legal protections for the rights of unhoused Canadians, as well as its specific reliance on principles from international human rights law. This case comment provides a brief overview of the Decision, highlighting some of the key developments including:

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When is a Citizen Initiative Petition a Dead Parrot?

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On May 21, 2026

In Aboriginal, Constitutional, Treaty Rights

By: Nigel Bankes

Decisions Commented On: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation v Alberta (Chief Electoral Officer), 2026 ABKB 375 (CanLII) and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation v Alberta (Chief Electoral Officer), 2026 ABKB 278 (CanLII).

PDF Version: When is a Citizen Initiative Petition a Dead Parrot?

In the main decision that is the subject of this post, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation v Alberta (Chief Electoral Officer), 2026 ABKB 375 (CanLII) (ACFN) Justice Shaina Leonard of the Court of King’s Bench quashed the decision of Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to issue an initiative petition to Mr. Mitch Sylvestre (the Proponent) under the Citizen Initiative Act, SA 2021, c C-13.2 (the CIA) on January 2, 2026. Sylvestre’s petition was a constitutional referendum proposal within the meaning of the CIA. The petition aimed to gather affirmative signatures for the following question: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”

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The Minority Report on Electoral Districts: Will the Law Protect Alberta from UCP Gerrymandering?

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On April 13, 2026

In Charter, Constitutional, Election/Voting

By: Shaun Fluker

Report Commented On: Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report (March 2026)

PDF Version: The Minority Report on Electoral Districts: Will the Law Protect Alberta from UCP Gerrymandering?

In a representative democracy, an elected representative is chosen by voters in their assigned electoral district. It goes without saying that the integrity of the process used to determine electoral districts is essential to a functional representative democracy. Any whiff of partisan influence on the process will poison the legitimacy of electoral outcomes, raising the spectre that electoral districts were drawn to ensure a particular result on voting day. This is known as “gerrymandering”. Political commentators (see here and here and here) have described the minority report issued by the two UCP-appointed members of the 2025-2026 Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission as classic gerrymandering. We are not quite there yet because it remains to be seen whether the minority report will be implemented by the UCP government. This post describes the content of the Electoral Boundaries Commission report submitted to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on March 23, 2026 (the “Report”) and explores what legal guardrails exist to prevent gerrymandering from infecting Alberta’s democracy.

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Back to School Act Survives Injunction Application

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On March 26, 2026

In Charter, Constitutional, Education, Equality, Injunctions, Labour/Employment, Rule of Law

By: Jennifer Koshan

Case Commented On: Alberta Teachers Association v Alberta (AG), 2026 ABKB 190

PDF Version: Back to School Act Survives Injunction Application

On March 13, 2026, Justice Douglas R. Mah denied the application of the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) for an interlocutory injunction to suspend operation of the Back to School Act, SA 2025, c B-05 (BSA). Background on this legislation and the Alberta government’s use of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to override the teachers’ rights to collectively bargain and strike appears in earlier ABlawg posts here and here. This post will discuss Justice Mah’s reasons, including his commentary on the role of judges in a constitutional democracy. This commentary is a sign of the times in Alberta, with the government posing threats to the rule of law and judges feeling compelled to speak out and defend their role. And it is not just the Alberta government seeking to exert more control over the judiciary. On March 24, Alberta was joined by the governments of Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec in calling for a greater say for the provinces in the selection of federally appointed judges. The provinces’ letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney came during a week when the Supreme Court of Canada is hearing what many consider to be the most important constitutional case since the Charter came into effect in 1982, English Montreal School Board, et al v Attorney General of Quebec, et al, 2025 CanLII 2818 (SCC) (EMSB). EMSB involves foundational issues about the powers of judges after a government has invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause, section 33. As I will discuss, the EMSB case played a key role in Justice Mah’s decision.

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The Proposed Co-operation Agreement on Environmental and Impact Assessment between Canada and Alberta

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On March 18, 2026

In Administrative Law, Constitutional, Environmental, Indigenous, Natural Resources, Oil & Gas

By: Nigel Bankes

Document Commented On: Draft Co-operation Agreement on Environmental and Impact Assessment between Canada and Alberta, March 6, 2026

PDF Version: The Proposed Co-operation Agreement on Environmental and Impact Assessment between Canada and Alberta

On March 6, 2026 the Governments of Canada and Alberta released a draft co-operation agreement on “Environmental and Impact Assessment”, thereby leading the way to fulfilling one of the undertakings contained in the Memorandum of Understanding on Energy (MOU) signed by the two governments on November 27, 2025. The MOU committed the parties to “Negotiate a cooperation agreement on impact assessments on or before April 1, 2026, that reduces duplication through a single assessment process that respects federal and provincial jurisdictions.” The Draft Agreement is open for comment until March 26, 2026.

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