The CCLA has ongoing involvement in a number of court cases, including:
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta v. Lyle Marcellus Nasogaluak (SCC)
This case concerns the availability of sentence reductions as a remedy for violations of constitutional rights. The CCLA has intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada anda a decision is pending.
- See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary
- See a summary of CCLA’s position
- Read CCLA’s factum
- Watch an archived webcast of the hearing
Trent Terrence Sinclair v. Her Majesty the Queen (SCC), R. v. McCrimmon (SCC), and Stanley James Willier v. Her Majesty the Queen (SCC)
These cases are concerning the scope of the constitutional right to counsel in the context of a custodial interrogation. The CCLA intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada and a decision is pending.
See Supreme Court of Canada case summaries of:
- Trent Terrence Sinclair v. Her Majesty the Queen
- R. v. McCrimmon
- Stanley James Willier v. Her Majesty the Queen
Watch archived webcasts of the hearings for:
- R. v. McCrimmon
- Trent Terrence Sinclair v. Her Majesty the Queen
- Stanley James Willier v. Her Majesty the Queen
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen, et al. (SCC) and Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd., et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, et al. (SCC)
The cases concern the constitutionality of mandatory publication bans regarding bail hearing proceedings when requested by the accused. The CCLA has intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada and a decision is pending.
- See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen, et al.
- See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary for Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd., et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, et al.
- See a summary of the CCLA’s position
- Read CCLA’s factum
City of Vancouver, et al v. Alan Cameron Ward, et al. (SCC)
This case concerns whether an award of damages for the breach of a Charter right can made in the absence of bad faith, an abuse of power or tortious conduct. The CCLA has been granted leave to intervene at the Supreme Court of Canada.
- See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary
- See a summary of the CCLA’s position
- Read CCLA’s factum
- Watch an archived webcast of the hearing
N.S. v. R. et al., Ontario Court of Appeal
This case concerns whether or not a Muslim woman, who is a complainant in a childhood sexual abuse case, must remove her veil in order to testify. CCLA has been granted leave to intervene at the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Farès Bou Malhab v. Diffusion Métromédia CMR inc., et al., Supreme Court of Canada
This case concerns Quebec defamation law and whether generalized comments by a radio host regarding ‘Arab and Hatian taxi drivers’ can give rise to liability.
Leblanc c. Rawdon (Municipalite de), Quebec Court of Appeal
This case stems from a lawsuit initiated by the Municipality of Rawdon, Rawdon’s Mayor and the Director General of the city. CCLA is extremely concerned about the freedom of speech implications of municipalities suing for defamation in general, as well as the broad order restraining future speech that was issued in this case. Arguments will likely be heard in February, 2010.
- See a summary of CCLA’s position
- See the Quebec Court of Appeal’s judgment granting leave
- See CCLA’s factum
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation v. Her Majesty the Queen, et al. (SCC)
Prior to 2005, Quebec journalists covering the judicial system were free to use recording equipment outside of courtrooms, and could broadcast excerpts of the courts’ official recordings of hearings. In 2005, however, directives were applied to many Montreal courthouses that confined all interviewing and camera use to designated areas, and prohibited all broadcasting of hearings. Shortly thereafter, the Quebec Ministry of Justice extended most of these restrictions to all courthouses in the province. When these decisions were challenged as an unjustifiable restriction on freedom of the press, the majority of the Quebec Court of Appeal found that the Charter’s guarantee of freedom of the press did not apply in courthouses. CCLA will argue that newsgathering in courthouses and the broadcasting of open court proceedings convey crucial information about the nature and workings of the justice system, and that the Canadian public has a constitutional right to receive this information. The hearing is scheduled for March 16, 2010.
Warman v. Fournier, Fournier and John Does 1-8, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
The case arises from a lawsuit which alleges that some anonymous comments made on an Internet discussion forum are defamatory. The Court will be asked to decide the circumstances under which a website operator can be forced to turn over information that would ‘unmask’ anonymous forum commentators.
R. v. Cornell (SCC)
This case is concerning whether the manner in which police conduct a search, in particular a unannounced ‘hard entry’, constitutes a violation of s. 8
- See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary
- See a summary of CCLA’s position
- Read CCLA’s factum
- Watch a live webcast of the hearing
Attorney General of Ontario v. Michael J. Fraser on his own behalf and on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada, et al., Supreme Court of Canada
The case concerns the legal protections, or lack thereof, available to Ontario agricultural workers in their exercise of freedom of association. CCLA argued that the government must provide insular, discrete and marginalized minorities with meaningful protection of their freedom of association. The Supreme Court has not yet released its judgment.
