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 a summary of CCLA’s position
Read CCLA’s factum
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.
See a summary of CCLA’s position
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.
See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary
See a summary of CCLA’s position
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.
See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary
See a summary of CCLA’s position
Read CCLA’s factum
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.
See a summary of CCLA’s position
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.
See the Supreme Court of Canada’s case summary
See a summary of CCLA’s position
See CCLA’s factum
Watch an archived webcast of the hearing
