A Saskatchewan Contribution to Enduring Inconsistencies in Bail Law

By: Kane Fritzler*

The inconsistent application of bail law across provinces and territories has resulted in increased guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada, most recently in the decision of R v Zora, which focuses on appropriate conditions of pre-trial release. Since bail law is largely conducted at the ...

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Taylor v Newfoundland and Labrador: Mobility Rights in the Age of a Global Pandemic

By: Danielle Hopkins*

In Taylor v Newfoundland and Labrador, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled on the novel issue of whether provincial governments have the legislative power to restrict domestic travel across their borders. This decision provides a starting point for determining the constitut...

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Pandora’s Box: Litigation and Regulation of Videogame Loot Boxes

By: Corbin Golding*

Videogame loot boxes, randomized packages of in-game items purchased with real or virtual currency, are a growing source of litigation and legislation around the world, including a recent Canadian lawsuit against a major videogame publisher. Loot boxes’ similarities to gambling have been noted by nu...

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Canadian Pacific Railway Company v Kelly Panteluk Construction Ltd.: Narrow Clarifications and Broad Baseline Setting

By: William Hampton*

Canadian Pacific Railway Company v Kelly Panteluk Construction Ltd. was handed down at a transitional moment in the landscape of construction law in Saskatchewan. The decision will also serve as a legal baseline going forward into the incoming prompt payment regime, as it clarifies elements...

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Mixed Messaging? Intimate Partner Violence Sentencing Amendments to the Criminal Code

By: Ashley Fulton*

This comment discusses recent amendments to the Criminal Code that added new intimate partner violence sentencing provisions, which came into force through An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other...

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No Longer Up to You: How Will Your Investments Be Taxed?

By: Tim Haggstrom*

In MacDonald v Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the test for distinguishing between investments meant to speculate, which are taxed on income account, and those meant to hedge, which are taxed on capital account. The Supreme Court’s decision diminishes the importance of the inv...

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1688782 Ontario Inc. v Maple Leaf Foods Inc.: Limiting Duty of Care in Cases of Pure Economic Loss

By: Brenden Cowlishaw*

This comment discusses 1688782 Ontario Inc. v Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a Supreme Court of Canada five to four ruling released on November 6, 2020. While denying that the supplier owed a duty of care to the franchisee, the Court revised and clarified several areas of pure economic loss in negl...

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Catching the Middleman: Amendments to Money Laundering Provisions of the Criminal Code

By: Gabriel Simons*

A recent Criminal Code amendment may drastically change how money laundering will be investigated and prosecuted in Canada. Now, when concealing or converting funds, rather than being required to know the property in question is the proceeds of crime, one only needs to be reckless as to the...

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Limitation Periods, Payment for Extras, and Construction Litigation: A Comment on Saskatchewan (Highways and Infrastructure) v Venture Construction Inc.

By: Matthew M. Scott*

In a dispute surrounding a construction contract containing a “payment for extras” clause, does a contractor’s loss occur when they do the extra work, or when they are denied compensation? This question has crucial implications with respect to limitation periods, and the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal...

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The Persistent Jurisprudential Muddle: Determining the Standard of Review for Procedural Fairness in Saskatchewan

By: Levi Graham*

What is the standard of review for procedural fairness? Strong jurisprudence from the Federal Courts suggest that the standard of review for procedural fairness remains uncertain. The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has indicated its preference for the side of “correctness.” Nevertheless, the issue...

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R. v Poulin: Muddled adjudication; adjudication, nonetheless

By: Travis W. Smith*

In this blog post, a brief analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent R. v Poulin decision brings forward concerns of what appears to be incomplete and inconsistent reasoning processes in both the majority and dissenting reasons. These concerns arguably impugned the Court’s efficacy i...

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The Implications of Using a Standard of Reasonableness versus Correctness: A Case Comment on Pomarenski v. Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association

By: Danielle R. Nichols*

This comment discusses the implications of a remark made by the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan in Pomarenski v. Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association Professional Conduct Committee, in which a disciplinary decision of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association was substa...

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New Anti-Money Laundering Legislation: Why is Alberta so Slow on the Uptake?

By: Jenine Urquhart*

This comment discusses an agreement by Canada’s finance ministers to amend their respective corporate statutes to reflect a need for transparency within closely held corporations. British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan have all moved forward to implement the agreement within their jurisdiction...

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Feng v. Saskatchewan (Economy): Denying a remedy for a breach of procedural fairness in the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program context

By: Kali Stahl*

On January 9, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan released its decision in Feng v. Saskatchewan (Economy). This comment discusses the Court’s decision to deny a remedy despite finding a breach of procedural fairness and, more importantly, addresses the Ministry of the Economy’s conce...

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Access to Legal Services, Limited Licences to Practice Law, and the Protection of the Public: A Discussion of Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Zielke and Recent Amendments to The Legal Profession Act, 1990

By: Mackinley M. Sim*

Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Zielke serves as an example of a law society acting to fulfill its statutory mandate to protect the public and regulate the provision of legal services. The case also raises questions with respect to access to legal services for those who require them most. Th...

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R. v. Rafilovich: A Need for Legislative Amendment

By: Evan Best*

This case comment discusses the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in R. v. Rafilovich, a case involving an individual who was arrested with approximately $47,000 worth of cocaine and $42,000 in cash. The cash was seized as being proceeds of crime, but subsequently released back to R...

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The Constitutionality of Section 33.1: A Never-ending Story?

By: Fraser Duncan*

This comment explores recent Charter challenges to s. 33.1 of the Criminal Code, which precludes the defence of self-induced intoxication for general intent, bodily integrity offences. The disparate outcomes in cases from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario highlight the need for fu...

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A Nation of Hollow Words: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families

By: Kylee Wilyman*

An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families has been held out by the federal government as ground-breaking legislation, co-developed with Indigenous groups. But “reconciliation is not what you say; it is what you do.”

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R. v. A.M.: Striking a Balance Between the Protection of the Complainant and the Protection of the Charter Rights of an Accused in Sexual Assault Proceedings

By: Miranda Wardman*

This case commentary discusses the new process for admitting private records in sexual assault proceedings under the Criminal Code as examined in R. v. A.M., a recent decision from the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan, which declared parts of the new Code provisions invali...

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Private Companies in Saskatchewan Prisons: The Impact of the Increasing Cost Barrier for Accessing Inmate Telecommunications

By: Kennedy Morrow*

This comment explores the impact of outsourcing inmate telecommunication services in Saskatchewan to a private company, GTL, which provides calling technology in correctional facilities. This technology has resulted in excessive pricing schemes for inmate calling and detrimental effects on inmate he...

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Unnecessarily Uncertain: Roberts Properties and the Case for an Official Service Animal Registry

By: Owen Pennock*

In the case of Roberts Properties Inc. v. O.S. , the Office of Residential Tenancies interpreted Saskatchewan’s Human Rights legislation and found that a woman’s support animal did not meet the requirements to be considered a “service animal,” and thus receive protection under the Act. As ...

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Are some political ideas simply too dangerous to express? An analysis of the constitutionality of the Canada Election Act’s restrictions on political speech

By: Larissa Meredith-Flister*

This comment discusses the constitutionality of the sections of the Canada Elections Act, as amended by the Elections Modernization Act, that restrict political speech considered to be false.

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Mandatory Victim Surcharges and s. 7 of the Charter

By: Evan Best*

In 2013, Parliament passed the Increasing Offenders’ Accountability for Victims Act, making victim surcharges mandatory for all individuals convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The constitutionality of this provision h...

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Orphan Well: Embracing statutory ambiguity

By: Allyse Cruise*

This case comment scrutinizes the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thorton Ltd. Many Canadians will be happy with the results of the case. However, the Supreme Court’s reasoning lacks coherence and provides little direction to lower courts tasked w...

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