- Asper Centre hosts panel on Indigenous Child Welfare and Self-Governance
November 22, 2024
by Taoran Li On 31 October 2024, the Asper Centre’s Indigenous Rights Working Group presented a panel event to unpack the significant legal issues and potential future implications of two recent decisions on Indigenous child welfare and ...
- Ontario Court of Appeal Allows Appeal by Youth Climate Litigants in Charter Challenge to Ontario’s Emissions Targets
October 23, 2024
by: Chelsea Gordon and Daniel Kiesman For the first time in Canada, an appellate court has considered the implications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”) on climate change policy. In a decision released on October 17th, the ...
- Meet Mary Birdsell, the Asper Centre’s new Constitutional Litigator in Residence for Fall 2024
August 14, 2024
by Kate Shackleton From working directly with young clients to arguing cases at the Supreme Court of Canada, Mary Birdsell has advocated on behalf of children and youth for more than 25 years. This fall, she will share her knowledge of children ...
- The State Is Not Immune: The Supreme Court Affirms that Crown Can be Held Liable in Damages for Unconstitutional Laws
August 2, 2024
by Vlad Mirel, with Neil Abraham and Megan Stephens In a 5-4 split, the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Attorney General) v. Power held that damages may be awarded to those affected by Charter-violating laws. Although the threshold that must be ...
- Mary Birdsell selected as new Constitutional Litigator in Residence
July 11, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Mary Birdsell has been selected as the Asper Centre’s new Constitutional Litigator in Residence for Fall 2024. Mary will be co-teaching the Asper Centre’s Clinic Course in the Fall 2024 term with our Executive ...
- Asper Centre takes part in the Vote16 Summit in Ottawa
June 26, 2024
By Vlad Mirel and Kate Shackleton On May 29, 2024, academics, parliamentarians, and youth activists from across the globe gathered in Ottawa for Canada’s first-ever national Vote16 Summit. The event was organized by Vote16 Canada – a national ...
- Bail Reform and the Constitutionality of Reverse Onus Provisions Targeting Repeat Offenders of Intimate Partner Violence
May 10, 2024
by Katherine Shackleton and Sarah Zaitlin On December 5th, 2023, Bill C-48 received royal assent in Parliament. Among other reforms to the Criminal Code, the bill expanded the reverse onus provision for offences involving intimate partner violence ...
- Launch of Reproductive Rights Working Group Report on Improving Access to Abortion Services in Canada
March 22, 2024
On March 14, 2024 the Asper Centre hosted a panel event to celebrate the launch of “Improving Access to Abortion Services in Canada: A What We Heard Report.” The Asper Centre regularly convenes student working groups that prepare policy briefs, ...
- Remembering Peter H. Russell (1932-2024)
January 19, 2024
In Memoriam The Asper Centre joins the University of Toronto in mourning the passing of Peter H. Russell, Professor Emeritus. An esteemed and prolific contributor to the University of Toronto community, Peter left a significant legacy in the fields ...
- Asper Centre Intervenes in Climate Change Case at ONCA
January 16, 2024
by Chelsea Gordon, Daniel Kiesman and Sang Park On January 15, 2024, the Asper Centre intervened before the Ontario Court of Appeal in Mathur v Ontario. The Asper Centre’s Constitutional Litigator in Residence Ewa Krajewska acted as counsel for the ...
- Asper Centre intervenes in Mathur et al v His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario
January 12, 2024
On January 15, 2024, the Asper Centre will be intervening in the case of Mathur et al v His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario at the Ontario Court of Appeal, generously represented by our counsel and recent Constitutional Litigator in Residence ...
- Asper Centre Celebrates 15th Anniversary
December 5, 2023
Jutta Brunnée, Faculty of Law Dean, University Professor and James Marshall Tory Dean’s Chair in conversation with Asper Centre Executive Director Cheryl Milne The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights celebrated 15 years at their special ...
- Reflections on Climate Justice and the Law
November 17, 2023
by Carson Cook, Eva Boghosian and Hannah West As members of the 2023-2024 Environmental Rights Student Working Group at the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, eleven first year students at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law have ...
- Meet Ewa Krajewska, our new Constitutional Litigator in Residence
September 20, 2023
by Emma Davies Ewa Krajewska, a civil litigator and partner at Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP, is co-teaching the Asper Centre’s clinic course as the 2023 Constitutional Litigator in Residence. Over the summer, I sat down with Ms. Krajewska to ...
- Constitutional Litigator in Residence for 2023
July 4, 2023
We are pleased to announce that Ewa Krajewska has been selected as the Asper Centre’s Constitutional Litigator in Residence for Fall 2023. Ewa will be co-teaching the Asper Centre’s Clinic Course in the Fall 2023 term with our Executive ...
- In Mathur v Ontario Court Rejects Charter Challenge to Ontario’s Emissions Target
May 9, 2023
by Daniel Kiesman In Mathur v Ontario[1] the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rejected the constitutional challenge to the greenhouse gas emissions target set by Government of Ontario under s. 3(1) of the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act (“CTCA”).[2] ...
- R v Sharma: Supreme Court of Canada upholds legislation limiting conditional sentences despite Indigenous over-incarceration concerns
November 16, 2022
by Kailyn Johnson In a 5-4 split, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality of sections 742.1(c) and 742.1(e)(ii) of the Canadian Criminal Code (R v Sharma, 2022 SCC 39 at paras 2-4 [Sharma]). These sections of the Criminal Code, ...
- Constitutional Litigator in Residence for 2022
September 16, 2022
Jessica Orkin has been selected as the Asper Centre Constitutional-Litigator-in-Residence for Fall 2022. Jessica Orkin is a partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto and leads the firm’s Aboriginal law practice. She has a broad litigation ...
- The SCC in R v J.J.: Upholding the Constitutionality of Criminal Code Reforms which Remove Barriers that Deter Sexual Assault Complainants from Reporting
July 19, 2022
By: Caitlin Salvino On June 23rd, 2022 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision in R v J.J..[1] This 6–3 ruling upheld the constitutionality of recent amendments to the Criminal Code that remove barriers for complainants within the ...
- A Clear and Decisive Supreme Court Ruling on Public Interest Standing: Attorney General of British Columbia v. Council of Canadians with Disabilities
June 24, 2022
by Caitlin Salvino On June 23rd, 2022 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision in Attorney General of British Columbia v. Council of Canadians with Disabilities.[1] This ruling reaffirms the important role of public interest standing ...
- The Curious Case of Section 15 and Courts of First Instance: The Joint Asper Centre, LEAF and West Coast LEAF Intervention in Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al
June 15, 2022
by Caitlin Salvino In the Fall of 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) will hear the case Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al.[1] The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, West Coast ...
- R v Bissonnette: The Supreme Court’s Ruling on the Constitutionality of Consecutive First Degree Murder Sentences
June 2, 2022
by Caitlin Salvino In R v Bissonnette, released on May 27, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled on the constitutionality of consecutive first degree murder sentences.[1] The SCC held that consecutive first degree murder sentences, ...
- R v Sullivan, R v Chan and R v Brown: The Supreme Court’s Ruling on the Defence of Extreme Intoxication
May 20, 2022
by Kathryn Mullins On May 13, 2022 the Supreme Court handed down its unanimous ruling in the related cases of R v Brown,[1] R v Sullivan[2] and R v Chan.[3] The Court declared that s. 33.1 of the Criminal Code, which barred the use of the defence of ...
- Asper Centre OUTLOOK Newsletter April 2022
April 20, 2022
Asper Centre Outlook Newsletter April 2022...
- Statement: Inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act
April 14, 2022
The Asper Centre has joined a number of civil society organizations across Canada to call for the public inquiry into the recent invocation of the Emergencies Act to have broad terms of reference and all the powers under Parts I & III of the ...
- Moving Towards Substantive Equality in Sentencing: R v Morris
December 9, 2021
by: Bailey Fox Introduction In R v Morris, 2021 ONCA 680, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) considered the impact and role of anti-Black racism in sentencing. The Asper Centre intervened in the appeal, specifically on the issue of whether an ...
- News Statement: Young Canadians File Court Challenge to Lower Federal Voting Age – Calling it Unconstitutional
December 1, 2021
TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2021 – A group of Canadian children and youth are set to make history, opening the possibility that they and their peers may be able to cast a ballot in the next federal election. The 13 young people range in age between 12 to 18 ...
- Constitutional Roundtable on City of Toronto et al v Ontario
November 16, 2021
by: Bailey Fox On Tuesday November 9, 2021 the Asper Centre hosted a constitutional roundtable panel on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in City of Toronto et al v Ontario, 2021 SCC 34. The Asper Centre intervened in the appeal at both the ...
- The Positives of Campaigning: City of Toronto and Freedom of Expression at the Supreme Court
October 15, 2021
by Bailey Fox Introduction On October 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision in Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34 [City of Toronto]. In the 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the legislation ...
- News Statement: Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General)
October 1, 2021
In a deeply divided 5 to 4 decision released today, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the Better Local Government Act, 2018 as constitutional. This legislation was enacted by the newly elected Ford government in 2018, midway through an ongoing ...
- Charter: A Course Podcast Episode 1: What’s the point of Section 1?
September 27, 2021
About the Series
Charter: A Course is a podcast created by the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights (the Asper Centre) and hosted by the Asper Centre’s Executive Director Cheryl Milne. Charter: A Course focuses on Canadian constitutional law and......
- R v Chouhan: The Supreme Court of Canada finds room for disagreement
July 9, 2021
By Wei Yang On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its reasons for judgement in R v Chouhan,1 a case that the Asper Centre intervened in last year. Background Mr Chouhan was charged with first-degree murder and was thus ...
- Meet Jonathan Rudin, the Asper Centre’s New Constitutional Litigator-in-Residence
July 2, 2021
By Leila Far Soares Jonathan Rudin, program director at Aboriginal Legal Services and experienced litigator, will be co-teaching the Asper Centre’s Clinic course as the new Constitutional Litigator-in-Residence for Fall 2021. Mr. Rudin has ...
- Constitutional Litigator-in-Residence for 2021
June 11, 2021
The Asper Centre is pleased to announce that Jonathan Rudin has been selected as its new Constitutional-Litigator-in-Residence and will be co-teaching the Asper Centre’s clinical course in the Fall of 2021. Mr. Rudin’s extensive ...
- In Their Memory The Calls to Action Must Be Fulfilled
May 31, 2021
71) We call upon all chief coroners and provincial vital statistics agencies that have not provided to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada their records on the deaths of Aboriginal children in the care of residential school ...
- Introducing our Summer 2021 Research Assistants!
May 26, 2021
The Asper Centre is excited to welcome eight new research assistants for Summer 2021, three of whom who are working directly through the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. This year’s research assistants will be taking on many new ...
- Asper Centre Annual Report 2020-2021
April 27, 2021
Click on Image for PDF...
- Court Challenges Program’s Human Rights Expert Panel Seeks Members
April 23, 2021
(via the Department of Canadian Heritage) The Department of Canadian Heritage is seeking individuals interested in serving on the Court Challenges Program’s Human Rights Expert Panel. The seven-member expert panel is responsible for making decisions ...
- SCC’s Reference re GGPPA Decision: an important milestone, but still a long road to travel
April 6, 2021
by Cameron Somerville On March 25th, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) upheld as constitutional the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA), which sets a benchmark for pricing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the country. In ...
- How should judges consider anti-Black racism in sentencing? Asper Centre intervenes in R v Morris
February 23, 2021
by Teodora Pasca On February 11, 2021, the Court of Appeal for Ontario heard oral arguments in R v Morris, the long-anticipated appeal that is expected to determine how systemic anti-Black racism should factor into sentencing determinations. The ...
- An Introduction to the Duty to Consult
February 3, 2021
by Annie Chan Arising from the Honour of the Crown, the duty to consult is a central tool in the protection of Aboriginal rights and the promotion of Crown-Indigenous reconciliation in Canada. As summarized by Professor Kerry Wilkins, adjunct ...
- Remembering Joseph Arvay
December 8, 2020
The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights joins the constitutional law community in mourning the death of Joseph Arvay, O.C., O.B.C., Q.C. Joe Arvay offered his time to the Centre as our first constitutional litigator in residence. Indeed he ...
- Asper Centre Intervention Influences SCC on Suspended Declarations
December 1, 2020
by Jeffrey Wang The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently released the decision of ON (Attorney General) v G. This case challenged the constitutionality of Christopher’s Law, an Ontario law that allowed some offenders who were convicted of sexual ...
- Examining the Constitutional Concerns of Urbanization and Megacities
November 26, 2020
By Julia Nowicki “Urban agglomeration is amongst the most burning policy challenges of the twenty-first century”, says Ran Hirschl, professor of political science and law and fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. “The continued silence of ...
- Fraser v. Canada: What’s the Point of S. 15?
November 18, 2020
by Jeffrey Wang On October 16th, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released the landmark decision of Fraser v Canada, clarifying how adverse effect discrimination fits into the s. 15 framework. Adverse effect discrimination can be defined as when a ...
- Overcoming Challenges to Implementing UNDRIP in Canada
November 10, 2020
By Julia Nowicki Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canadian law will not be without challenges, and will require both hard-work and great care, said Kerry Wilkins at the Asper Centre’s first ...
- R v Chouhan: The Constitutionality of Abolishing Peremptory Challenges
November 3, 2020
by Annie Chan The Asper Centre recently intervened in R v Chouhan, a case before the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) whose outcome has fundamental implications on the process of jury selection in criminal trials. Background For 150 years, two types of ...
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador dismisses Constitutional Challenge to Travel Restriction
October 27, 2020
by Ainslie Pierrynowski Does a provincial government have the authority to restrict interprovincial travel? Can limitations on mobility rights be justified in the name of public health? These timely issues were at the heart of Taylor v Newfoundland ...
- Meet Nader Hasan, the Asper Centre’s New Constitutional Litigator-in-Residence
August 19, 2020
By Amy Chen Nader Hasan, a partner at Stockwoods LLP and one of Canada’s leading appellate lawyers, will be co-teaching the Asper Centre’s clinic course this fall as the constitutional litigator-in-residence. He graciously sat down with me to ...
- COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Uncharted Constitutional Waters
August 7, 2020
by Amy Chen On July 29, 2020, Lisa Austin, Andrea Slane, Vincent Chiao, and David Lie joined Director Cheryl Milne of the Asper Centre to discuss their collaborative research paper: Test, Trace, and Isolate: COVID-19 and the Canadian Constitution. ...
- LEAF and the Asper Centre welcome the Ontario Court of Appeal’s Decision in R. v. Sharma
July 27, 2020
A majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal has struck down Criminal Code provisions which made conditional sentences unavailable for certain offences. The ruling comes in response to Cheyenne Sharma’s constitutional challenge to these ...
- Young Climate Activists Attempt to Hold Province Accountable for Inadequate Emissions Target
July 23, 2020
By Amy Chen In late 2019, Ecojustice and Stockwoods LLP initiated a constitutional challenge (“the Application”) against Ontario’s greenhouse gas reduction target on behalf of seven young climate activists (the “Applicants”). Ontario responded with ...
- Supreme Court Upholds Federal Powers to Combat Genetic Discrimination
July 14, 2020
Unresolved Fault Lines Appear on the Normative Scope of Criminal Law Powers By Nicholas Buhite On July 10th, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment in Reference re Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (2020 SCC 17), a reference ...
- Supreme Court of Canada Affirms Asper Centre’s Position on Charter Damages
June 12, 2020
The Supreme Court of Canada heard this appeal in Treaty One Territory (Winnipeg, Manitoba). This was the Court’s first time sitting outside of Ottawa. by Amy Chen On June 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment on Conseil ...
- Introducing our 2020 Summer Research Assistants
May 29, 2020
The Asper Centre welcomes four new research assistants for the summer of 2020. Despite these unusual times, everyone is busy with exciting projects, including two interventions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Amy Jun Chen Amy received her Bachelors ...
- Asper Centre ED joins forces with child rights advocates to call for the safety of Canadian children deprived of their liberty during COVID-19
May 7, 2020
On May 6th 2020, a group of child rights organizations, lawyers and advocates from across Canada, including Asper Centre ED Cheryl Milne, joined forces to advocate for the rights of children in detention during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group ...
- Ontario Court of Appeal Rules G20 Protester’s Rights Violated by Police
April 22, 2020
Ten years after Toronto hosted the G20 summit, a civil suit launched against the Toronto police has finally been resolved by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The decision—Stewart v. Toronto (Police Services Board)—represents a strong affirmation ...
- Constitutional Litigator-in-Residence for 2020
April 16, 2020
Nader Hasan has been selected as the Asper Centre Constitutional-Litigator-in-Residence for Fall 2020. Nader’s wealth of constitutional litigation experience in areas ranging from search and seizure law to digital privacy law to protecting civil ...
- What Does Vavilov Mean for Constitutional Issues in Administrative Law?
April 3, 2020
by Cheryl Milne It seems like a lifetime ago that I last attended an in-person legal conference. It was only March 9th, and while the specter of COVID-19 was present (there were hand sanitizer dispensers at the elevator banks and we all used them), ...
- Asper Centre OUTLOOK & Message
March 27, 2020
Dear Asper Centre Friends, We hope that you, your loved ones and colleagues are keeping safe and well during these challenging times. Shortly before the faculty of law closed due to COVID-19 earlier this month, the Asper Centre published its ...
- Carbon Tax Constitutional Challenge: ABCA Sides with Province
March 25, 2020
by Adam LaRiviere On February 24th, 2020, the Alberta Court of Appeal (‘ABCA’) released its decision regarding the constitutional challenge of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, SC 2018, c 12 (‘Act’). The case was decided 4-1 in favour of the ...
- Asper Centre Outlook Newsletter March 2020
March 12, 2020
PDF version: Asper Centre Outlook March 2020 ...
- Reflections on the Asper Centre Intervention in Ontario v. G
March 10, 2020
By Jeffrey Wang As a clinic student this term, I had the opportunity to hear the Asper Centre’s oral arguments in its intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in the appeal of Ontario v. G, which took place on February 20, 2020. The appeal ...
- Careers in Constitutional Law
March 3, 2020
by Kylie de Chastelain Many students are fascinated by the constitutional issues they engage with in the classroom and the Asper Centre regularly receives questions about how to work towards a career in Constitutional law. To help address these ...
- Substantive Equality in Sentencing: Morris and Sharma
January 30, 2020
by Mashoka Maimona On January 22, 2020, the Asper Centre hosted three lawyers involved in two cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) in which the Asper Centre intervened — R v Morris and R v Sharma — which consider how historical and ...
- Courts Without Cases: The Law and Politics of Advisory Opinions
November 26, 2019
By Kylie de Chastelain The Asper Centre recently hosted Professor Carissima Mathen, author of Courts Without Cases: The Law and Politics of Advisory Opinions (2019), for a dynamic Constitutional Roundtable about her new book, with Professor Lorraine ...
- Asper Centre students mark Student Law Clinic Global Day of Action
November 19, 2019
Back row (left to right): Mackenzie Cumberland; Clara Pencer; Leah Kelley; and Florian Nagy. Front row (left to right): Madeleine Carswell; Keely Kinley; and Yara Willox. Members not pictured: Madeleine Andrew-Gee; Adam LaRiviere; Leora Chapman; ...
- Asper Centre students call on the Ontario and federal governments to act on air pollution
November 18, 2019
via UofT Faculty of Law News: https://www.law.utoronto.ca//news/students-call-ontario-and-federal-governments-act-air-pollution Monday, November 18, 2019 Today, November 18th, is the Student Law Clinic Global Day of Action for Climate ...
- News Release: Asper Centre and Justice for Children and Youth organize youth consultations for legal challenge to Canada’s voting age
November 14, 2019
Toronto, November 14, 2019 — In partnership with several child rights organizations, Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY) and the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights (Asper Centre) have secured case development funding from the Court ...
- “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Safe Third has got to go! Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Safe Third has got to go!”
November 7, 2019
by Karen Chen, Shelby Rooney and Anju Xing Dozens gathered in front of the Federal Court in Toronto this Monday, Nov. 4 to chant along in support of a legal challenge against the United States’ designation as a “safe country” under the Safe Third ...
- First Nations Child Welfare: the Challenges of Overcoming Colonization and Removal
November 5, 2019
by Kylie de Chastelain On October 28, 2019, the Indigenous Initiatives Office at the Faculty of Law hosted lawyers Maggie Wente and Sinead Charbonneau from Olthius Kleer Townshend LLP for a presentation entitled: First Nations Child Welfare Practice ...
- Recapping Brandon Garrett’s Constitutional Roundtable on Wealth, Equal Protection, and Due Process
October 9, 2019
by Kylie de Chastelain On Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019 the Asper Centre hosted Professor Brandon Garrett for a Constitutional Roundtable titled “Wealth, Equal Protection and Due Process.” Professor Garrett presented work from a recent paper ...
- A historical first for the SCC
September 24, 2019
The Asper Centre is intervening in the upcoming Supreme Court of Canada case of Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie Britannique v British Columbia (Éducation) relating to whether British Columbia failed to adequately fund and support French ...
- Freedom of expression in an election context: A purposive approach
September 24, 2019
by Keely Kinley On September 19, 2019, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the City of Toronto’s legal challenge against the Province of Ontario for making unilateral changes to the size and structure of Toronto’s city council midway through last ...
- Substantive equality in sentencing: Interventions in R v Morris and R v Sharma
September 19, 2019
By Teodora Pasca This fall, the Asper Centre is intervening in two cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) whose outcomes could significantly impact the province’s approach to sentencing marginalized people. In R v Morris, the ONCA will ...
- The Constitutionality of the Proposed Federal Conversion Therapy Ban
September 5, 2019
by Jeffrey Wang On June 21, 2019, the Federal government announced its intentions to criminalize conversion therapy in a letter to provincial premiers. While this is undoubtedly a positive step for LGBT+ rights, the constitutionality of this ban has ...
- The Constitutional validity of separate school funding
August 7, 2019
by Jeffrey Wang On April 20th, 2017, Justice Layh of the Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench released the decision of Good Spirit School Division No. 204 v. Christ the Teacher Roman Catholic Separate School Division No. 212, ruling that public funding for ...
- Challenging Quebec’s Secularism Bill despite its use of s.33
July 29, 2019
by Jeffrey Wang On June 16th, 2019, Quebec passed An Act respecting the laicity of the State (Bill 21). This bill was controversial for banning the wearing of religious symbols, such as hijabs, niqabs, turbans and kippahs, for some public employees, ...
- Report from our 2019 Summer Fellow at LEAF
July 23, 2019
by Paniz Khosroshahy This summer I have been working at Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) as an Asper Centre Summer Fellow. LEAF works to advance women’s substantive equality rights through litigation, law reform, and public education, ...
- R v Barton and the Role of Interveners in Criminal Litigation
June 4, 2019
By Keely Kinley The Supreme Court released its highly anticipated decision in R v Barton on May 24, 2019. In 2011, Cindy Gladue was found deceased in the bathtub of Bradley Barton’s hotel room with a fatal 11-cm gash in her vaginal wall. Barton ...
- Asper Centre granted intervener status in 2 upcoming Ontario Court of Appeal cases and seeks standing in a third one
May 31, 2019
City of Toronto v. Attorney General of Ontario et al On September 10, 2018, Ontario Superior Court Judge Edward Belobaba in City of Toronto et al v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2018 ONSC 5151 declared that the province of Ontario had “substantially ...
- Immigration Detention Symposium: CARL Toolkit and Case law Compendium
May 3, 2019
by Delia Luca and Jacob Webster The final panel of the Asper Centre Immigration Detention Symposium held on March 15, 2019 focused on the Immigration Detention Toolkit (Toolkit) recently launched by the Canadian Association of Refugee Laywers (CARL) ...
- Immigration Detention Symposium: Habeas Corpus Panel Highlights
April 26, 2019
by Mashoka Maimona and Renuka Koilpillai The “Habeas Corpus Best Practices” panel was one of the highlights of the Asper Centre’s Immigration Detention Symposium, held on March 15, 2019. The panellists were immigration and refugee lawyers ...
- Immigration Detention Symposium: Responding to the IRB’s External Audit
April 23, 2019
by Olivia Martin and Adrian Ling The first session of the Asper Center’s Immigration Detention Symposium, held on March 15, 2019 at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, featured a panel discussing the 2018 Immigration and Refugee Board’s ...
- Legal Aid Cuts: Devastating and Short-sighted
April 18, 2019
by Cheryl Milne Devastating and short-sighted. These are the words that immediately come to mind in response to last week’s announcement that the Legal Aid Ontario budget would be cut by approximately 30% starting with the immediate end ...
- Asper Centre students call for Canada to suspend STCA on Refugee Rights Day
April 5, 2019
via @UTLaw: https://www.law.utoronto.ca/news/students-call-on-canada Thursday, April 4, 2019 By Karen Chen and Mackenzie Claggett Canada presents itself to the world as a place where “those fleeing persecution, terror and war” are welcome. It is a ...
- Choose Your Battleground: Recapping the Beaver v Hill Panel Discussion
April 2, 2019
by Hannah Goddard-Rebstein and Arjun Gandhi On Thursday, March 21st, the Asper Centre held a panel on Indigenous rights and family law, using the case of Beaver v Hill as a focal point for the discussion. The panel was convened by the Asper ...
- Trial by military: Spotlight on R v Beaudry
March 26, 2019
by Teodora Pasca Years ago, Corporal R. P. Beaudry was charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm, an offence under s 272 of the Criminal Code carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment. Beaudry, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, ...
- February 2019 Outlook Newsletter
March 21, 2019
https://issuu.com/facultyoflawnexusmagazine/docs/2019_asper_centre_outlook_final CLICK HERE for a PDF version of this Newsletter....
- Recapping YY Chen’s Constitutional Roundtable on Citizenship and the Charter
March 19, 2019
by Michelle Huang and Jeffrey Wang On Thursday, February 28, the Asper Centre hosted Professor Y. Y. Brandon Chen for a Constitutional Roundtable titled “Toward a Substantive Understanding of Citizenship in the Canadian Charter of Rights and ...
- Asper Centre Executive Director Cheryl Milne awarded 2019 Law Society Medal
March 19, 2019
The Asper Centre’s Executive Director Cheryl Milne is among the 2019 recipients of the Law Society of Ontario Medal, which recognizes and lauds “exceptional career achievements and contributions to their communities.” Cheryl Milne’s citation ...
- What they don’t know will hurt them: no consent, gender identity or social media in the Ontario sex ed curriculum
March 6, 2019
By Leslie Anne St. Amour In my opinion, to call the court’s decision dismissing the case against the Ontario government in respect to the repeal and replacement of the sex ed curriculum disappointing would be an understatement. I would consider ...
- Asper Centre awarded Law Foundation of Ontario grant to develop online police oversight guides
February 22, 2019
The Asper Centre is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Law Foundation of Ontario responsive grant to develop online guides to the police oversight procedures in Ontario. This forms part of our ongoing work developing national online ...
- R v Bird: Do Not “Breach First, Challenge Later”
February 20, 2019
by Sahil Kesar Spencer Bird (“Bird”), a long-term offender, was charged with breaching the conditions of a community supervision order prescribed by the Parole Board. At the criminal proceeding, he sought to use the defence that the order which ...
- Democrats v USSC: The Constitutionality of Court-packing
February 1, 2019
By: Jasmit De Saffel The Asper Centre’s first Constitutional Roundtable of the year transported the room two years ahead into a hypothetical future where the Democrats have won the U.S. 2020 election. In a world where the Democrats control Congress ...
- Frank v Canada: Contrasting the Section 1 Analyses
January 28, 2019
By: Sahil Kesar and Jasmit De Saffel On January 11, 2019 the Supreme Court issued its decision on the constitutional challenge to provisions of the Canada Elections Act detailing residence requirements for voting in federal elections. The provisions ...
- Reflecting on the Sex-Ed Charter Challenge
January 22, 2019
By: Leslie Anne St. Amour Now that the Constitutional challenge to the Ford government’s repeal of the 2015 sex-ed curriculum has been heard by the court, I am reflecting on why I wanted to work on this project as an Asper Centre Clinic student last ...
- Supreme Court Moves Voting Rights into Globalization Era in Frank Decision
January 15, 2019
by Jasmit de Saffel In its first decision of the year, the Supreme Court of Canada sided with Canadian ex-pats in a case about their voting rights. Chief Justice Wagner held that “citizenship, not residence, defines our political community and ...
- Dunsmuir Revisited: Questioning the Standard of Review
December 21, 2018
by Catherine Ma Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeals in Minister of Citizenship and Immigration v Alexander Vavilov, Bell Canada et al v Attorney General of Canada, and National Football League et al v Attorney General ...
- Asper Centre Files Submissions on Administrative Segregation
November 20, 2018
by Jasmit de Saffel On November 19, 2018, the Asper Centre filed submissions to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in regards to the use of administrative segregation in Canadian correctional facilities and the proposed ...