Category Archives: Constitutional

Harnessing the Power of AI Technology; A Commentary on the Law Commission of Ontario Report on AI and the Criminal Justice System

By: Lisa Silver and Gideon Christian

PDF Version: Harnessing the Power of AI Technology; A Commentary on the Law Commission of Ontario Report on AI and the Criminal Justice System

Report Commented On: Law Commission of Ontario, The Rise and Fall of AI and Algorithms In American Criminal Justice: Lessons for Canada, (Toronto: October 2020).

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) recently released its Report on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms in the Canadian criminal justice system. The Report, which is the first of three papers on the issue, is one of the most comprehensive discussions of the use of AI and algorithmic technologies in the criminal justice system to date. In Canada, AI use in the criminal justice system is limited and not easily subject to in-depth review. In the United States, however, AI and algorithms are used extensively throughout the justice system, particularly in pre-trial release decision-making. Not surprisingly, then, the Report draws from this American experience to arrive at a number of recommendations for application to the Canadian context. Based on those lessons learned, the LCO Report warns of “the risk of adopting unproven and under-evaluated technologies too quickly to address long-standing, complex and structural problems in the justice system” (at 7). Yet, in the midst of this cautionary tone, the Report also recognizes that AI use in the criminal justice system will likely increase in the future. The Report proactively outlines a framework for such use by urging AI regulation, the application of legal protections to AI, and community involvement in developing AI best practices. All of these warnings and recommendations are extremely useful but the Report begs the basic question of whether the justice system should be using machine intelligence, with its embedded biases, in matters that can profoundly change people’s lives. Ultimately, the Report should stand as a timely reminder of the unharnessed power of technology and the realistic potential for injustice when it is used without restraint.

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Tugging at the Strands: Adverse Effects Discrimination and the Supreme Court Decision in Fraser

By: Jennifer Koshan and Jonnette Watson Hamilton

PDF Version: Tugging at the Strands: Adverse Effects Discrimination and the Supreme Court Decision in Fraser

Case Commented On: Fraser v Canada (Attorney General), 2020 SCC 28 (CanLII)

On October 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-awaited decision in Fraser v Canada (Attorney General), 2020 SCC 28 (CanLII). Fraser involved a claim of adverse effects discrimination by female RCMP members who lost their entitlement to full pension benefits when they entered temporary job-sharing arrangements. We blogged on the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Fraser here, and – in the interests of disclosure – also participated in the Supreme Court intervention in Fraser by the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) (for LEAF’s news release following the Fraser decision, see here).

Fraser is the first successful adverse effects claim under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in over 20 years and it is the first ever successful adverse effects claim under section 15 in a sex discrimination context. This post will focus on the typical challenges that have been faced in adverse effects claims and review how Justice Rosalie Abella’s majority decision in Fraser responded to these problem areas, which were also apparent in the lower court decisions in Fraser. Although Justice Abella wrote for the majority of the Court (Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Justices Michael Moldaver, Andromache Karakatsanis, Sheilah Martin and Nicholas Kasirer, as well as herself), we will refer to the judgment as hers because it appears to be the culmination of her life-long work on equality rights and may be her last judgment on this subject before her retirement in 2021.

We also review the two dissenting judgments in Fraser, written by Justices Russell Brown / Malcolm Rowe and Justice Suzanne Côté. Our title is inspired by Justice Abella’s allegation that the dissent “tug[s] at the strands of a prior decision they disagree with … [to] unravel the precedent” (at para 133, referring to Alliance, one of the Court’s two 2018 pay equity decisions that we cite below). Interestingly, the same could be said of the majority judgement, which unravels the knots of a large body of section 15 jurisprudence that has made it difficult to prove adverse effects discrimination claims. It is these problem areas that we turn to next.

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Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR: Charitable Status for Atheists and the Triviality of Religious Freedom Infringements

By: Kathryn Chan & Howard Kislowicz

PDF Version: Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR: Charitable Status for Atheists and the Triviality of Religious Freedom Infringements

Case Commented On: Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR, 2019 FCA 296 (CanLII)

On October 29, the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR, 2019 FCA 296 (CanLII), a charitable registration appeal that raised questions about the constitutionality of according tax privileges to a class of “religious” charities in Canada. This result is unsurprising. The decision of the Federal Court of Appeal was unanimous and the Church of Atheism was not represented by counsel. The evidentiary record was probably sparse, since the evidentiary record in charitable registration appeals is limited to the documents in the Canada Revenue Agency’s file at the time that registration is denied. Nevertheless, Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR raised important legal issues that affect the largest segment of Canada’s charitable sector. This post discusses several issues that are likely to re-emerge in a future case.

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Freedom of Expression & Protecting the Visual Environment

By: Lisa Silver

PDF Version: Freedom of Expression & Protecting the Visual Environment

Case Commented On: Top v Municipal District of Foothills No. 31, 2020 ABQB 521 (CanLII)

The legal environment is primarily constructed by written or spoken words. Lawyers write, submit, and file documents, and through their daily work, create a language of the law. Sometimes written laws impact the visual world. Such a law was at issue in the recent decision of Justice Nicholas Devlin in Top v Municipal District of Foothills No. 31, 2020 ABQB 521 (CanLII). In that case, the Municipal District (MD) Bylaw prohibited the use of signage on trailers, a continuing problem in the rural setting of the Foothills County. Other types of signage were permitted but it was the aesthetically unpleasing trailer signs, parked along the side of the roadways, which were a matter of contention. Justice Devlin agreed the law limited free expression under section 2(b) of the Charter but was a reasonable limit under section 1 of the Charter, considering the municipality’s pressing and substantial objective to protect the “visual environment” from “visual pollution” (at para 3). Although raised to justify the Charter violation, the idea that the visual environment is a value to be protected is intriguing. In Top, expression and the visual intersect, as the written law provides a platform for the perfect view. This post will explore this intersection and whether the legal landscape can or should protect the visual one.

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Private Health Care and the Law Part 1: Litigation Challenging Limits to Private Care

By: Lorian Hardcastle

PDF Version: Private Health Care and the Law Part 1: Litigation Challenging Limits to Private Care

Case Commented On: Cambie Surgeries Corporation v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2020 BCSC 1310 (CanLII)

On September 10, Justice Steeves released his decision in Cambie Surgeries Corporation v British Columbia (Attorney General), which addresses the constitutionality of BC’s limits on private health care. The plaintiffs argued that if the government could not provide timely care, it could not prevent patients from accessing private care (at para 27), while the government argued that limits on privatization are necessary to protect the public system and ensure equitable access. This blog post summarizes the 880-page ruling, with a focus on section 7 of the Charter. It omits other issues, including a brief analysis of section 15 of the Charter (at paras 2804-2874) and a discussion of the impartiality and independence of expert witnesses (at paras 1064-1152). For readers who are unfamiliar with constitutional law, this document briefly outlines the approach courts take in adjudicating Charter claims. A second blog post will discuss the relevance of this case in Alberta.

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