James C Morton
Suicide and teenage females
It appears that the suicide rate of teenage females has risen by over 50% since 1980. This is especially striking as the rate for teenage males has dropped by about…
Direct or indirect tax
Out-Of-Home v. Toronto (City), 2012 ONCA 212 today cites John Stuart Mill as an authority for the definition of indirect or direct tax! The Court writes: In my view, the application judge…
Are lawyer’s accounting records within the scope of privilege? Maybe
Donell v. GJB Enterprises Inc., 2012 BCCA 135 is a careful analysis of when a lawyer's accounting records are privileged. The decision is worth reading in full but here is…
Res judicata
Where res judicata applies, it may act as an estoppel, preventing a party from re-litigating a matter. In order for this doctrine to apply, it must be shown: a) that…
Possibility of a brokered convention looms large over tight Republican race
I'm not sure why Americans are so negative about a Convention that actually chooses the candidate. We almost always have that in Canada — and it tends to be a…
Some recent cases on issue estoppel
Wolfe v. Pickar, 2011 ONCA 347 (per Goudge J.A., Gillese and Watt JJ.A. concurring) held that in determining whether the doctrine of issue estoppel applied, the Court of Appeal follows…
End of the penny; I hear the sound of approaching horses…
For Canadian coin collector Sid Belzberg, the penny's demise is a bad omen. He casts back to the Roman Empire's shrinking currencies and sees a disturbing trend in coinage phase-out.…
When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.
Martin Luther King, Jr. And his point is well taken — conservative or liberal are just labels. What we all should do is focus on the issues and not the…
Silver Blaze
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time."…
Legislative history and statutory interpretation
Abdula v. Canadian Solar Inc., 2012 ONCA 211 deals with the very limited use to which legislative history can be put in statutory interpretation: It is important to note the extent to…
No stand alone claim for malice
Hinds v. Group 4 Security, 2012 ONCA 207 is a malicious prosecution case. In order to succeed on such a claim there must be evidence of causation. Mere malice does not suffice —…
More guns, less crime?
I'm not sure how accurate the report of MP Garry Breitkreuz's is. He may have been misinterpreted. And of course carrying a concealed weapon in Canada (especially a gun) is…
Substantial administrative penalties do not trigger Charter rights
Rowan v. Ontario Securities Commission, 2012 ONCA 208 holds substantial administrative penalties under securities legislation are not offences so as to trigger Charter rights: The starting point for analysis of the Charter…