James C Morton
Teacher who played drums in Harper’s band charged with sex assault
And so? I am not a big fan of Stephen Harper but he can hardly be held accountable for things his acquaintances do secretly. Not to mention these are charges…
Absent an explanation an unlawful search is unconstitutional
R. v. Mandziak, 2014 BCCA 41: The fact that there was no evidence or a paucity of evidence to support the Crown’s attempt to justify the unlawful seizure was not…
Costs in Estate Matters
Sawdon Estate v. Sawdon, 2014 ONCA 101: In Geffen v. Goodman Estate, 2 S.C.R. 353, at pp. 390-391, Wilson J., writing for the court on this issue, reiterated the long-standing…
Society must pay the cost of due process. That is expensive.
R. v. M.J.O., 2005 CanLII 50809: In 1958 I entered law school. In the 1958-59 academic year I enjoyed the great privilege of being taught criminal law by G. Arthur…
Sad news; passing of Justice DiSalle
A sensible and compassionate judge: The Honorable Mario C. DiSalle (August 30, 1935 – January 28, 2014) Passed away suddenly at his residence Tuesday, January 28, 2014 Beloved husband of…
Piercing the Corporate Veil
Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. v. 6470360 Canada Inc. (Energyshop Consulting Inc./Powerhouse Energy Management Inc.), 2014 ONCA 85: I agree with Shoppers that the motions judge did not refer toFleischer. Fleischer…
Non Partisan Senators
The dramatic announcement of Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader that Senators formerly sitting as Liberals will no longer be a formal caucus has shaken up Canada's political landscape. Some ask…
Status Indians cannot pledge Reserve property as collateral for debt; attempt to structure same fails
Benedict v. Ohwistha Capital Corporation, 2014 ONCA 80: Section 89 of the Act was enacted in the 1951 revision of the original Indian Act. The original Act contained a similar…
Bitcoins
My Grandfather was a small town lawyer in the 1930s. One of his less fond memories was the difficulty of getting paid for his work (plus ça change, plus c‘est…
Information to Obtain need not be commissioned by Justice of the Peace
R. v. D.G., 2014 ONCA 75: In this case, the ITO of P.C. Feizal Rhab was commissioned by Shirley Atkinson, a Commissioner of Oaths for the Waterloo Regional Police Service.…
An acknowledgement of debt recommences the limitation period
Limitations Act: Acknowledgments 13. (1) If a person acknowledges liability in respect of a claim for payment of a liquidated sum, the recovery of personal property, the enforcement of a…
Compliance with regulatory order not mitigating factor on sentence
Ontario (Labour) v. Flex-N-Gate Canada Company, 2014 ONCA 53 deals with an employer which breaches a provision of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, resulting…
Two step test for Summary Judgment
Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7: Summary judgment motions must be granted whenever there is no genuine issue requiring a trial. There will be no genuine issue requiring a trial…