The Upside of Dissent in Equality Jurisprudence

The Upside of Dissent in Equality Jurisprudence
Tweet My latest paper tackles the topic of judicial dissent.  I wrote it for the 2013 Osgoode Constitutional Cases conference.  In it, I explore an intriguing idea: that dissent has helped, rather than hurt, the development of equality rights case law.  The Supreme Court of Canada’s incredibly fractured decision in the A case (which deals with spousal ...

Are Women Bad for Multiculturalism?

Tweet On November 20, 2013, I gave the Patricia Allen Memorial Lecture at McGill University’s Faculty of Law.  I had a great time, also recording a podcast for their law journal on the Senate Reference.  Until I get around to converting my talk to a proper paper, here’s the text of what I said.  Thanks ...

Purposive Interpretation, Quebec and the Supreme Court Act

Tweet Delighted to share my latest piece, written with my dear friend and long-time collaborator Dr. Michael Plaxton (Sask).  We were inspired to write it, in October, following an unprecedented series of events surrounding the appointment of the newest Supreme Court justice, Marc Nadon.  This piece, soon to be published in Constitutional Form, has the distinction ...

“Leaving Battered Women to the ‘Justification’ of Self-defence?”

Tweet (2013) 98 Criminal Reports (6th) 258 I wrote this short piece together with my good friend and collaborator, Dr. Michael Plaxton, about the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Ryan.  A fascinating case, Ryan deals with some tricky issues regarding the defence of duress, battered women and the excuse/justification dichotomy in criminal defences.  ...

“Rational Connections: Oakes, Section 1 and the Charter’s Legal Rights”

“Rational Connections: Oakes, Section 1 and the Charter’s Legal Rights”
Tweet Ottawa Law Review  (forthcoming)  This piece was written for the Ottawa Law Review’s 2012 Symposium commemorating the 25th anniversary of R. v. Oakes.  It has always fascinated me that “rational connection”, the first stage of proportionality analysis under the Charter, was the deciding factor in Oakes but since then has assumed “bit player” status . ...

“Reflecting Culture: Polygamy and the Charter”

“Reflecting Culture: Polygamy and the Charter”
Tweet (2012) 57 The Supreme Court Law Review 357-374 In 2011, I had a choice to make: prostitution or polygamy?  Both are perennial topics of debate, particularly in feminist legal circles, producing passionate oppositional dialogue; and both had gained increased profile and attention in the wake of several court proceedings: R. v. Bedford in Ontario, ...

“Developments in Constitutional Law – The 2010-2011 Term”

“Developments in Constitutional Law – The 2010-2011 Term”
Tweet (with Michael Plaxton) (2011) 55 The Supreme Court Law Review (2d) 47-161 Download a preprint of this article