ABLawg - - Page 268

By: Jennifer Koshan

PDF Version: Seasonal Workers and Discriminatory Benefits: The NWTCA Provides Some Clarity

Case commented on: NWT (WCB) v Mercer, 2014 NWTCA 01 (Can LII)

This decision from the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal was passed on to me by an ABlawg reader in response to one of my recent posts on the ongoing uncertainty regarding the test for discrimination under human rights legislation. The decision is important in several ways. First, it finds that the standard of review for a decision on discrimination is reasonableness. Second, it affirms the application of the prima facie test for discrimination, most recently discussed by the Supreme Court of Canada in Moore v British Columbia (Education), 2012 SCC 61 (CanLII), [2012] 3 SCR 360. Third, and relatedly, it indicates that the government’s objectives for a particular statute should be considered at the justification stage of analysis rather than under the prima facie discrimination stage. Fourth, it finds that seasonal workers can be seen as a group protected by human rights legislation under the ground of social condition (which includes source of income). I will elaborate upon all of these findings in this comment.

ABlawg participates in the Launch of Can LII Connects

By Admin

On April 4, 2014

In Blogs and Websites

On April 4, 2014, Can LII launched a new project called Can LII Connects. This site will provide summaries of and commentary on Canadian cases reported on Can LII. Case comments will be accessible via Can LII Connects and via the Can LII website, and Can LII Connects also has a blog. ABlawg was very pleased to be asked to participate in this project as one of a few law blogs to post historical content in time for the launch. To access ABlawg’s content on Can LII Connects, readers can use the Search function or choose to filter by Publisher. Readers can concur with comments on Can LII Connects, or add their own commentary. All new case comments on ABlawg will be cross-posted to Can LII Connects from here on in. We encourage our readers to check out this excellent new resource.

What the ELA Tells Us About Alberta’s New Monitoring Agency

By Martin Olszynski

On April 3, 2014

In Environmental

By: Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: What the ELA Tells Us About Alberta’s New Monitoring Agency

Developments commented on: Government of Canada announces that a new operator for the Experimental Lakes Area has been secured; Appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair of Alberta’s Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency’s Board

This past Tuesday, the Canadian and Ontario governments, together with the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) announced that an agreement had been reached to transfer responsibility for the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to the IISD. Many readers will know that the ELA is the world-renowned research facility located in northern Ontario where since 1968 freshwater ecologists and other scientists have conducted numerous important and unique whole-lake experiments, including one by a then-recent Rhodes Scholar named David Schindler that resulted in the phasing out of phosphorus additives in cleaning products. These same readers will also likely know that DFO’s funding for the ELA, a whopping $2 million per year, was cut as part of the (in)famous 2012 federal budget (which also took an axe to the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy). What readers might not know, however, is what these events tell us about the potential success of Alberta’s new independent monitoring agency, the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA).

The Decision in Smith v St. Albert (City): An example of a Municipality’s Expansive Powers to Regulate Just About…Everything?

By Ola Malik

On March 28, 2014

In Constitutional, Municipal Law

By: Ola Malik and Theresa Yurkewich

PDF Version: The Decision in Smith v St. Albert (City): An example of a Municipality’s Expansive Powers to Regulate Just About…Everything?

Case commented on: Smith v St. Albert (City), 2014 ABCA 76

In our system of cooperative federalism, it is well settled that limiting a government’s powers to the boundaries of its jurisdiction is a futile exercise. The dual aspect of a single jurisdictional subject matter is a reality for any federal system. It is more than likely that any one single jurisdictional subject matter can be shared by several different levels of government without leading to outright conflict. The courts’ modern approach to resolving the overlap is to recognize the dual aspect of a single subject matter, so long as the subservient legislation does not adversely affect or impair any vital element of the core competence of, or conflict with, legislation enacted by the higher level of government (Canadian Western Bank v Alberta, [2007] 2 SCR 3).

Hate Speech and Human Rights in Alberta

By Jennifer Koshan

On March 26, 2014

In Human Rights

By: Jennifer Koshan

PDF Version: Hate Speech and Human Rights in Alberta

Motion commented on: Motion 502 (Alberta Legislative Assembly, March 17, 2014)

It was a tumultuous time in the Alberta Legislature last week, culminating with the resignation of Alison Redford as Premier (for an excellent recap see Susan on The Soapbox). And of course there were significant events at the national level as well, with the resignation of Jim Flaherty as finance minister and the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision that Marc Nadon was ineligible for appointment to its ranks. Readers therefore may be forgiven if they missed last week’s debate in the Alberta Legislature on the repeal of section 3(1)(b) of the Alberta Human Rights Act, RSA 2000, c A-25.5 (AHRA).