No costs ceiling in Court of Appeal
(Attorney General) v. Rothmans Inc.,2013 ONCA 642 makes an important civil practice point – there is no cost ceiling in the Court of Appeal: We do not think it can…
James C Morton
Newspapers get it wrong sometimes
Just reading a news story reporting a case I argued and am overwhelmed by the errors. Not that it will make a significant difference to anyone but the story got…
If it’s printed it’s true
As a general rule people accept written text over oral communication. To some degree this can be explained by the apparent permanence of written text. The obvious vicissitudes to which…
Federal Government joins litigation against Quebec’s Anti-Clarity Act legislation
It has taken years to get to Court but the intervention is a good idea: Story here
Oprah gets religion wrong
Apparently a group of atheists are upset because Oprah suggested that people feeling awe and mystery were not, in fact, atheists. Hmmmn Well Oprah’s view of religion is not exactly…
End of life decisions
The Supreme Court of Canada this week that doctors in Ontario could not unilaterally decide to withdraw ordinary life support from a patient they considered effectively dead. It is important…
A picture of desperate confusion; the Throne speech
Yesterday's Throne speech paints a picture of a government in confusion, desperate to regain the favour of the Canadian public. The government that came to power professing the power of…
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is true but gosh it's tough to act on. It's one thing, for example, to behave fairly and justly to all people; but to go the extra step and…
Time to go beyond gimmicks
Today’s Throne speech promises consumer goodies. And certainly no one can object to getting free stuff – except that the free stuff seems to be coming from the bottom line…
Deference to Masters
2189205 Ontario Inc. v. Springdale Pizza Depot Ltd., 2013 ONCA 626 holds that deference is owed to Masters making findings of fact: The Master was the primary finder of fact.…
Appeal deference for sentence
R v Korgak , 2013 NUCA 09 is a good source for the general principle of deference to the trial judge on sentencing appeals: Moreover, we are constrained by the…
Failure — US Default Looms
Many years ago I had an important appeal. I was a young lawyer and prepared hard for the hearing; and as soon as I stood up realized my preparations were…
Amendment of information or indictment on appeal only with great caution
R. v. Brownson, 2013 ONCA 619: Section 683(1)(g) explicitly authorizes an appeal court to amend an indictment (and, by analogy, an information): 683(1) For the purposes of an appeal under…
Nunavut literacy
This is an ongoing problem. If you cannot read, and read well, you cannot compete for jobs. I’m involved in a project to bring more free books to Nunavut but…