Category: Constitutional Page 15 of 72

The issue of whether a university is subject to the application of the Charter has arisen in a number of cases, some of which appear to conflict. See: BCCA Unfortunately Chooses Not to Follow Alberta’s Lead on the Issue of Whether the Charter Applies To Universities.

In Yashcheshen, the issue of Charter application occurred when Yashcheshen sought admission to the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan without submitting a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score, because she had a disability (Crohn’s Disease) that she believed would prevent her from having a fair opportunity to write the LSAT (at para 1). When Yashcheshen submitted her application without an LSAT score in February 2014, it was not accepted. The College suggested that, because it required everyone to submit an LSAT score and it did not administer the test, Yashcheshen should apply to the Law School Admission Council for an accommodation with respect to the LSAT (at para 7).

R v Shoemaker: Alberta Court of Appeal Tells Corrections Canada to Follow Its Own Rules

By Amy Matychuk

On August 1, 2019

In Constitutional, Criminal

By: Amy Matychuk

PDF Version: R v Shoemaker: Alberta Court of Appeal Tells Corrections Canada to Follow Its Own Rules

Case Commented On: R v Shoemaker, 2019 ABCA 266 (Can LII)

In R v Shoemaker, Justices Marina Paperny, Frans Slatter, and Kevin Feehan for the Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) overturned Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (ABQB) Justice K. D. Yamauchi’s decision dismissing Mr Shoemaker’s application for habeas corpus. Mr Shoemaker applied for habeas corpus after he was involuntarily transferred from the medium and minimum security Drumheller Institution to the maximum security Edmonton Institution. The ABCA held that Mr Shoemaker did not have a reasonable opportunity to prepare and provide representations responding to the reasons for his transfer or to seek the assistance of legal counsel. He was denied these opportunities because Correctional Service Canada (CSC) did not follow the procedural safeguards for inmates as set out in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, SC 1992, c 20 (CCRA), the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, SOR/92-620 (CCRR), and CSC’s internal directives. This post is part of my ongoing series on habeas corpus litigation in Alberta. For more background, see my previous posts from May 2017, July 2017, and February 2018.

Open Access: A Request to the Alberta Court of Appeal

By Admin

On July 25, 2019

In Constitutional, Environmental

By: Admin

PDF Version: Open Access: A Request to the Alberta Court of Appeal

Matter Commented On: Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (Alberta)

There is considerable public interest in questions as to the validity of the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, SC 2018, c 12, s 186 (GGPPA) and the References that have been made to different provincial Courts of Appeal. We now have judgments rendered by both the Saskatchewan and Ontario Courts of Appeal upholding the federal government’s GHG pricing regime: Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2019 SKCA 40 (CanLII) and Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2019 ONCA 544 (CanLII). Appeals are pending in each of these cases.

The Bill 12 “Turn off the Taps” Litigation: Justice Hall Orders a Stay in BC’s Action

By Nigel Bankes

On July 23, 2019

In Administrative Law, Constitutional

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: The Bill 12 “Turn off the Taps” Litigation: Justice Hall Orders a Stay in BC’s Action

Case Commented On: British Columbia (Attorney General) v Alberta (Attorney General), 2019 ABQB 550

This decision concerns Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act, SA 2018, c P-21.5 also known as the “Turn Off the Taps” legislation. I commented on Bill 12 here and commented on the decision of the Kenney Government to bring this legislation into force here. The decision to bring the legislation into force prompted the Attorney General of British Columbia (AGBC) to renew its application to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench to have the legislation declared unconstitutional. The Attorney General Alberta (AGAB) responded by bringing an application to strike BC’s application on the basis that the AGBC had no standing to sue for a declaration as to the constitutional invalidity of Alberta legislation. This is Justice Robert Hall’s decision on that application.

Material and Cultural Causes of Delay

By Drew Yewchuk

On July 18, 2019

In Civil Procedure, Constitutional

By: Drew Yewchuk

PDF Version: Material and Cultural Causes of Delay

Case Commented On: R v King, 2019 ABQB 467

This is the seventh instalment in my long-running series of blog posts covering Alberta decisions dealing with the fallout of R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, released almost three years ago. This post starts with a discussion of the recent R v King, 2019 ABQB 467, which covers one of the two live issues about Jordan that will be going up before the SCC: whether or not the time between when an application or case is heard and when it is decided (often called ‘judicial delay’; I will refer to it as ‘judicial decision-making time’) is excluded from the delay calculation. This issue will be before the Supreme Court as part of R v KGK, 2019 MBCA 9, on September 25, 2019. (The second issue is how the timelines apply to minors, an issue in the appeal of R v KJM, 2018 ABCA 278, which the SCC heard in February 2019). The second part of the blog post discusses some longer-term impacts of Jordan, and some of the limitations of the decision.

Category: Constitutional Page 15 of 72

Context is Everything When it Comes to Charter Application to Universities

R v Shoemaker: Alberta Court of Appeal Tells Corrections Canada to Follow Its Own Rules

Open Access: A Request to the Alberta Court of Appeal

The Bill 12 “Turn off the Taps” Litigation: Justice Hall Orders a Stay in BC’s Action

Material and Cultural Causes of Delay