Supreme Court of Canada Cases In Brief

Canada Post Corp. v. Canadian Union of Postal WorkersPeople delivering mail have a right to safe workplaces, but that doesn’t mean mail routes have to be inspected every year, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: December 20, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 67Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Malcolm Rowe allowed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Gascon, Côté, and Brown agreed)Dissenting: Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella said limiting safety inspections to those routes under the employer’s physical control ignored the preventive purposes of the law and left three-quarters of the letter-carrier routes unprotected; she would have dismissed the appeal (Justice Martin agreed)On appeal from the Federal Court of AppealCase information (37787)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Administrative decision (Health and Safety Officer, not available online)Administrative appeal (Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal Canada)Judicial review (Federal Court of Canada)Appeal (Federal Court of Appeal)

The Standard of Review (taken from Vavilov in the “Administrative Law Trilogy”)Date: December 19, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 65 | 2019 SCC 66Breakdown of the decision:Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Justices Michael Moldaver, Clément Gascon, Suzanne Côté, Russell Brown, Malcolm Rowe, and Sheilah Martin set out the new approachJustices Rosalie Silberman Abella and Andromache Karakatsanis said administrative decision-makers should be given more deference and that the majority’s approach gave judges too much room to substitute their own decisions for those of expertsCases in Brief for individual decisions:Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65Bell Canada v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 SCC 66 (two appeals)

Bell Canada v. Canada (Attorney General)A decision to allow US Super Bowl ads to be shown in Canada went beyond the CRTC’s power, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: December 19, 2019Neutral Citations: 2019 SCC 66Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Justices Michael Moldaver, Clément Gascon, Suzanne Côté, Russell Brown, Malcolm Rowe, and Sheilah Martin allowed the appealsDissenting: Justices Rosalie Silberman Abella and Andromache Karakatsanis said the CRTC’s decision to allow US Super Bowl ads was reasonable and would have dismissed the appealsOn appeal from the Federal Court of AppealCase information (37896) (37897)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Broadcasting order (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)Consolidated appeal (Federal Court of Appeal)

A person born in Canada to parents who were undercover Russian spies is a Canadian citizen, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: December 19, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 65Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Moldaver, Gascon, Côté, Brown, Rowe, and Martin dismissed the appealConcurring: Justices Rosalie Silberman Abella and Andromache Karakatsanis agreed that the Registrar’s decision was unreasonable and was rightly quashedOn appeal from the Federal Court of AppealCase information (37748)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Decision (Registrar of Citizenship, not available online)Judicial review (Federal Court of Canada)Appeal (Federal Court of Appeal)

Canada (Attorney General) v. British Columbia Investment Management Corp.The federal government couldn’t force a BC Crown corporation to pay GST on its own property, but it still had to pay because BC agreed, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: December 13, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 63Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Andromache Karakatsanis dismissed both the appeal and cross-appeal (Justices Abella, Moldaver, Brown, Rowe, and Martin agreed)Dissenting in part: Chief Justice Richard Wagner said BCI had to pay GST on services for the property in the trust and would have allowed the appeal on the immunity issueOn appeal from the Court of Appeal for OntarioCase information (38059)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Declaratory judgment (Supreme Court of British Columbia)Appeal (Court of Appeal for British Columbia)

Yared v. KaramQuebec family property rules apply to a family home held by a trust that one of the spouses controls, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: December 12, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 62Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Malcolm Rowe allowed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Abella, Brown, and Martin agreed)Dissenting: Justice Suzanne Côté said Mr. Karam couldn’t use his powers as trustee to interfere with the rights of the beneficiaries of the trust (the children and Ms. Yared), so he didn’t solely have rights conferring use of the home; she would have dismissed the appeal (Justice Karakatsanis agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (38089)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings (in French only):Declaratory judgment (Superior Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

International Air Transport Association v. Instrubel, N.V.The Supreme Court issued written dissenting reasons in a case decided orally by the majority of judges in December 2019.DecisionJudgment rendered: December 11, 2019Dissenting reasons: May 1, 2020Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 61Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Chief Justice Wagner dismissed Iraq’s and IATA’s appeals from the bench (Justices Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Rowe, and Martin agreed)Dissenting: Justice Suzanne Côté said the money IATA held for Iraq wasn’t a debt and that since it was held outside Quebec, Quebec courts didn’t have jurisdiction, so she would have allowed the appealsOn appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (38562)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Decision on motion (Superior Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

Resolute FP Canada Inc. v. Ontario (Attorney General)Companies are responsible for the cost of complying with environmental orders, not the government, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: December 6, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 60Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justices Rosalie Silberman Abella, Michael Moldaver, Andromache Karakatsanis, and Sheilah Martin allowed the appealDissenting: Justices Suzanne Côté and Russell Brown said first-party claims weren’t excluded based on the wording of the contract; they would have allowed Resolute’s appeal and dismissed Weyerhaeuser’s and Ontario’s (Justice Rowe agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal for OntarioCase information (37985)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Decision on motion for summary judgment (Ontario Superior Court of Justice)Appeal (Court of Appeal for Ontario)

Kosoian v. Société de transport de MontréalPolice weren’t allowed to arrest someone for not holding an escalator handrail, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: November 29, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 59Breakdown of the decision:Unanimous: Justice Suzanne Côté allowed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Gascon, Brown, Rowe, and Martin agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (38012)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings (in French only) :Trial (Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

Desgagnés Transport Inc. v. Wärtsilä Canada Inc.Provincial contract law, not federal maritime law, applied to a contract for ship-engine parts, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: November 28, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 58Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justices Clément Gascon, Suzanne Côté, and Malcolm Rowe allowed the appeal (Justices Moldaver, Karakatsanis, and Martin agreed)Concurring: Chief Justice Wagner and Justice Russell Brown said the only real issue in this case was the contract, which falls under a provincial power, so Quebec contract law applied (Justice Abella agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (37873)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Trial (Superior Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec) (some reasons in French)

Montréal (Ville) v. Octane Stratégie inc.The City of Montreal had to pay a company for services it provided even though municipal contract rules weren’t followed, the Supreme Court has said.DecisionDate: November 22, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 57Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Justice Clément Gascon dismissed the city’s appeal (Justices Abella, Karakatsanis, Rowe, and Martin agreed)Dissenting: Justices Suzanne Côté and Russell Brown said the conditions to recover a payment not due weren’t met because Octane knew the relevant rules weren’t being followed; they would have allowed the city’s appeal and dismissed Octane’s appeal (Justice Moldaver agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (38066) (38073)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings (in French only):Trial (Superior Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

R. v. K.J.M.Time limits for adult criminal trials also apply to youth criminal trials, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: November 15, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 55Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Michael Moldaver dismissed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Gascon, Côté, and Rowe agreed)Dissenting: Justices Rosalie Silberman Abella and Russell Brown said a shorter timeline of 15 months should apply to young people to reflect the uniquely prejudicial impact of delay on them, and would have allowed the appeal (Justice Martin agreed)Dissenting: Justice Andromache Karakatsanis agreed with the majority that adult time limits also apply to youth trials, but said timeliness is even more important for young people than for adults, and so would have stayed KJM’s chargesOn appeal from the Court of Appeal of AlbertaCase information (38292)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Decision on application for stay of proceedings (Provincial Court of Alberta) (not available online)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Alberta)

R. v. JavanmardiAn experienced naturopath wasn’t guilty when one of her patients died after treatment, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: November 14, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 54Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella allowed the appeal (Justices Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté, and Brown agreed)Dissenting: Chief Justice Richard Wagner said giving the injection was dangerous and Ms. Javanmardi’s training and experience shouldn’t matter when deciding whether her actions were reasonable, but would have ordered a new trial on unlawful act manslaughter (Justice Rowe agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (38188)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Trial (Court of Quebec) (not available online)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec) (in French only)

R. v. RafilovichJudges don’t have to make someone pay a fine equal to the earnings from crime they used (with permission) to pay for their defence, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: November 8, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 51Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Sheilah Martin allowed the appeal (Justices Abella, Karakatsanis, Gascon, Brown, and Rowe agreed)Dissenting in part: Justice Michael Moldaver said that, to ensure crime doesn’t pay, Mr. Rafilovich should have to pay back proceeds of crime spent on counsel unless counsel was necessary to protect his right to a fair trial; however because the record wasn’t clear on this point, the case should go back to the sentencing judge to decide (Chief Justice Wagner and Justice Côté agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal for OntarioCase information (37791)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Sentencing judgment (Ontario Superior Court of Justice)Appeal (Court of Appeal for Ontario)

Threlfall v. Carleton UniversityIf a Quebecker is found dead within seven years of going missing, it can retroactively affect payments that were based on them being alive, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: October 31, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 50Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Justice Clément Gascon dismissed the appeal (Justices Abella, Karakatsanis, Rowe, and Martin agreed)Dissenting: Justices Suzanne Côté and Russell Brown said the proof of death shouldn’t retroactively affect Mr. Roseme’s right to his pension, so Ms. Threlfall shouldn’t have to pay the money back to Carleton (Justice Moldaver agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (37893)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Motion to institute proceedings (Superior Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

A Quebec court doesn’t always have to put its proceedings on hold when a foreign court is hearing the same dispute, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: October 25, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 49Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Clément Gascon allowed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Moldaver, Karakatsanis and Martin agreed)Concurring: Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella would have allowed the appeal because a decision under the Belgian law letting a spouse revoke gifts went against Quebec’s and the international community’s approach to spousal equality, and wouldn’t be recognized in QuebecDissenting: Justice Russell Brown said the application judge made a legal error by failing to consider the risk of conflicting judgments, and so would have dismissed the appealOn appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (37861)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings (in French only):Application for stay of proceedings (Superior Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

R. v. PoulinA convicted person has the right to the punishment that applied either when they committed their crime or when they are sentenced, whichever is lower, the Supreme Court has ruled. They don’t have a right to the lowest punishment that might have existed any time in between.DecisionDate: October 11, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 47Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Sheilah Martin allowed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Moldaver and Côté agreed)Dissenting: Justice Andromache Karakatsanis said the Court shouldn’t have heard the case because Mr. Poulin had died, but would have dismissed the appeal because courts’ consistent interpretation that a person had a right to the lowest punishment available over the whole time was fair and supported by the Charter wording (Justices Abella and Brown agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal of QuebecCase information (37994)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings (in French only): Sentencing judgment (Court of Quebec)Appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec)

Fleming v. OntarioPolice can’t arrest someone who isn’t breaking the law to prevent others from breaching the peace, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: October 4, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 45Breakdown of the decision:Unanimous: Justice Suzanne Côté allowed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner and Justices Abella, Moldaver, Brown, Rowe, and Martin agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal for OntarioCase information (38087)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Trial (Ontario Superior Court of Justice, not available online)Appeal (Court of Appeal for Ontario)

Denis v. CôtéDecisionDate: September 27, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 44Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Chief Justice Richard Wagner dismissed the appeal on the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction and allowed the appeal on the practical issues in part (Justices Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Gascon, Côté, Brown, Rowe, and Martin agreed)Dissenting: Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella would have quashed the subpoena which ordered the journalist to reveal the identities of her sourcesOn appeal from the Court of Appeal and Superior Court of QuebecCase information (38114)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Decision on summons (Court of Quebec)First appeal (Superior Court of Quebec) (in French only)Second appeal (Court of Appeal of Quebec) (in French only)

Keatley Surveying Ltd. v. Teranet Inc.Ontario has copyright in plans of survey filed in the province’s land registry, the Supreme Court has ruled.DecisionDate: September 26, 2019Neutral Citation: 2019 SCC 43Breakdown of the decision:Majority: Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella dismissed the appeal (Justices Moldaver, Karakatsanis, and Martin agreed)Concurring: Justices Suzanne Côté and Russell Brown agreed that the Crown had copyright in the plans of survey, but said the section on Crown copyright in the Copyright Act should only cover government works that serve a public purpose in order protect against overly broad application (Chief Justice Wagner agreed)On appeal from the Court of Appeal for OntarioCase information (37863)Webcast of hearingLower court rulings:Dismissal of class action (Ontario Superior Court of Justice)Appeal (Court of Appeal for Ontario)