Allegations of conflict of interest against three judges dismissed
The Canadian Judicial Council has dismissed allegations of conflicts by three judges who attended privately sponsored receptions or conferences.
All posts filed under: Canada
Quebec appeal court to hear appeals in two Jordan cases
Nearly a year to the day when the Supreme Court of Canada issued its landmark Jordan ruling, the Quebec Court of Appeal announced that a five-judge panel will hear an appeal late this summer of a decision to stay a murder charge against a Sri Lankan refugee even though the accused has been deported back to his homeland.
Telecom giants must pay millions following SCC’s refusal to hear appeals
Telecommunication giants Bell Mobility and Rogers Communications must pay millions of dollars to clients who paid excessive cancellation fees after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear their appeals.
Bars lobbying prime minister over appointment of next chief justice
The tussle over the appointment of the new Chief Justice of the nation’s highest court has begun, with both the Bar of Montreal and the Canadian Bar Association penning letters in a bid to sway Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
UN panel calls on Canada to appoint extractive sector ombudsperson
An independent, well-resourced office for an ombudsperson that can investigate allegations and enforce orders on Canadian extractives’ overseas operations should be established by the federal government to provide effective remedies in a timely and inexpensive manner, recommends a United Nations working group on business and human rights.
The proposal is one of several made by the UN panel to ensure that federal and provincial governments strengthen access to both judicial and non-judicial remedial mechanisms to victims of human rights abuses.
Federal and provincial governments need to demonstrate “stronger engagement” towards duty to consult, says UN panel
Federal and provincial governments “need” to demonstrate a “stronger engagement” towards conducting meaningful consultations with indigenous communities, according to a United Nations working group on business and human rights.
The duty to consult takes on added weight given that extensive mining and oil and gas extraction in several indigenous territories is “accompanied” by significant adverse environment impacts that affect the right to health, added the UN panel.
UN Working Group calls on Canada to do more to address human rights abroad
A United Nations working group on business and human rights is calling on federal and provincial governments as well as industry associations and companies to bolster their efforts to prevent and address “adverse human rights impacts” of business activities in Canada and abroad.
The UN panel lauded the federal government for undertaking some initiatives to deal with business and human rights, particularly in the extractive sector, but underscored that it could do much more.
Business heaves sigh of relief as federal government suspends controversial private right of action provision in anti-spam law
Canada’s business community has just heaved a huge sigh of relief.
The federal government issued an Order in Council that suspends the controversial implementation of the private right of action under Canada’s Anti-Spam legislation (CASL) until the completion of a parliamentary review due to “broad-based concerns” raised by businesses, charities and the not-for-profit sector.
Ruling could lead lawyers to think hard before voicing concerns about legal system
In a controversial decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal recently held that Quebec lawyers can criticize the legal system as long as it is done with dignified restraint, constructively and meets the public’s reasonable expectations of a lawyer’s professionalism. But the appeal court decision has stoked fears that the ruling will engender a chilling effect, and prompt lawyers to think twice before voicing their concerns about the legal system in public for fear of being reprimanded by their law society.
Former Montreal Crown prosecutor who filed a reprisal complaint wins partial victory
A former Crown prosecutor who filed a reprisal complaint against the Public Prosecution Service of Canada before the federal Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner partially won his case before the Federal Court of Canada.
Auto parts maker fined $13.4 million for bid-rigging offenses
In the second-largest fine ever ordered by a court in Canada for bid-rigging offenses, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice fined Mitsubishi Electric Corp. $13.4 million after it plead guilty to three counts of bid-rigging for participating in an international conspiracy, capping a fine week by the Competition Bureau.
Bureau investigations involving car parts have resulted in over $84 million in fines imposed by the courts in Canada since April 2013. The largest fine to date under the bureau’s campaign was $30 million levied in 2013 on Yazaki Corp. for rigging bids on wire harnesses for Honda and Toyota. All told, ten car parts manufacturers have been fined.