Podcast

Climate Change and the Charter: Securing the Right to a Healthy Environment

In a new and historic constitutional challenge, seven youth plaintiffs allege that the Ontario government’s weakening of the province’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target violates their Charter rights. In this episode, we explore the history of Mathur v Ontario and discuss whether governmental climate plans are reviewable by courts. Our guest is Fraser Thomson, a lawyer at Ecojustice who is representing the Mathur claimants.

The Law of Armed Conflict and its Limits: Lessons from Afghanistan

The Afghanistan War and its legacy continue to exert a profound influence over Canada’s national security policy. In this episode, we reflect on Canada’s role within the war and the international humanitarian law that governed the conflict. We speak with Retired Maj Gen Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces (2010–2017), and Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell, Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame.

Deconstructing the Reasonable Person

Although the reasonable person standard continues to be a useful tool in many areas of the law, it can also reinforce stereotypes of power and privilege. In this episode, we speak with Professor Mayo Moran about what a critical lens reveals about the shortcomings and limitations of the reasonable person standard.

Legislating Cyberspace: Online Harms and Threats to Civil Liberties

Regulating online content is a complex issue that platforms and governments alike continue to grapple with. In this episode, we explore the Canadian Government’s Proposed Approach to Address Harmful Content Online and its potential impact on civil liberties.

We speak with Me Lex Gill, a public interest lawyer who co-authored a recent report on the pressing privacy, freedom of expression, and human rights considerations related to the government’s proposal.

Minority Language Rights and Bill 96

Le projet de loi n° 96, la loi sur la langue officielle et commune du Québec, le français, a été présenté par le gouvernement de la Coalition Avenir Québec en 2021. Il propose plusieurs mesures pour renforcer et promouvoir la langue française au Québec. Bien que l’Assemblée Nationale du Québec a voté unanimement pour que le projet de loi 96 passe à la phase de consultation, certains ont remis en cause sa nécessité et sa constitutionnalité. Dans cet épisode, nous discuterons avec le professeur Guillaume Rousseau et Me Julius Grey sur les origines et les objectifs principaux du projet de loi 96 ainsi que les critiques les plus courantes formulées à son encontre.

Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, was put forward by the Coalition Avenir Québec government in 2021. It proposes several new measures to strengthen and promote the French language in Québec. Although the National Assembly of Quebec voted unanimously to push Bill 96 into the consultation stage, some have questioned its constitutionality. In this episode, we discuss with Professor Guillaume Rousseau and Me Julius Grey about Bill 96’s origins and main objectives, and highlight some of its largest critiques.

Les avocats peuvent-ils sauver l’environnement? La responsabilité extra-contractuelle et la prévention des dommages environnementaux

Dans cet épisode, nous discuterons du rôle de la responsabilité civile dans la prévention des dommages environnementaux. Afin de nous éclairer sur ce sujet, nous avons invité Maître Michel Bélanger, avocat spécialisé en recours collectifs et en droit de l’environnement.

An End to Cyberstalking? Caplan v. Atas and the New Tort of Online Harassment

In 2021, the Ontario Superior Court developed a new tort of online harassment. The tort was fashioned to respond to the outrageous conduct of the defendant, who incessantly posted malicious and defamatory falsehoods about the plaintiffs across various online platforms. But was the creation of a new tort necessary? And will it provide an effective solution for other victims of cyberbullying or internet harassment? Our guest is Iris Fischer, co-head of the Toronto Litigation Group at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Music by Alexander Shamaluev and IvyMusic from Pixabay.

Meaning Making: Students and Indigenous Legal Education | Professor John Borrows

A recording of the lecture delivered by Professor John Borrows at the McGill Law Journal’s 2022 Annual Lecture.  

The Annual Lecture is a McGill Law Journal tradition that dates back to the 1980s. This year, Professor John Borrows spoke about the role students play in reshaping and growing the law and the legal field by collectively engaging in the process of making sense of the world around us. 

Seeds of Sovereignty: Indigenous Rights and Canadian Cannabis Law

Three years following the legalization of cannabis in Canada, the role of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in regulating cannabis has yet to be adequately addressed, creating a state of legal uncertainty over questions about jurisdiction and control. Despite this uncertainty, some Indigenous nations have nonetheless begun to assert their inherent rights to self-government and regulate cannabis according to their own customs and laws. In this episode, we explore both the challenges the Cannabis Act has posed for Indigenous governments and cannabis entrepreneurs, as well as the flourishing “red market” of cannabis businesses that operate and are licensed under Indigenous laws and frameworks.

Contracts of Silence: How NDAs can silence victims and cover up wrongdoing

Traditionally used to protect trade secrets and proprietary information, non-disclosure agreements are now regularly found in employment contracts and settlement agreements of all kinds. But these agreements can also operate as oppressive contracts of silence – particularly when invoked to prevent victims of discrimination, harassment, or abuse from speaking out about their experiences. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Julie Macfarlane about the questionable legality of non-disclosure agreements, and how legislative reform could restrict their ability to perpetuate harm.