scholarly journals BC Teachers’ Federation v British Columbia: The Supreme Court Takes a School Holiday

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-616
Author(s):  
Eric Tucker
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Public Sector Workers

Summary Constitutional labour rights in Canada now protect workers’ freedom to organize and bargain collectively and to strike. These associational freedoms are especially important for public sector workers, the most frequent targets of legislation limiting their freedoms. However, the Supreme Court of Canada judgments recognizing these rights and freedoms have also introduced important ambiguities about their foundation, scope and level of protection. This brief comment locates these ambiguities in the context of Canada’s political economy and industrial relations regime, which are beset by contradiction and conflict. It then explores the origins and development of the jurisprudential ambiguities in constitutional labour rights through a survey of recent Supreme Court of Canada’s labour rights judgments, including most recently British Columbia Teachers’ Federation and British Columbia (2016).

scholarly journals Settling the Fisheries: Pre-Confederation Crown Policy in Upper Canada and the Supreme Court's decisions in R. v. NIKAL and LEWIS

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-172
Author(s):  
Peggy J. Blair
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Upper Canada ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
Fishing Rights ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Subject

Although a casual reading of the Supreme Court of Canada's decisions in R. v. Nikal and R. v. Lewis might suggest otherwise, this article will argue that Court's decisions in two recent British Columbia aboriginal fishing cases do not apply in Ontario. In doing so, it will be shown that the Supreme Court of Canada relied on evidence of historic Crown policies towards aboriginal fishing rights in Upper Canada in the absence of appropriate context as to when, how and why those policies evolved. As a result, the Court wrongly concluded that fisheries could not be the subject of exclusive aboriginal rights.

The Courts

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-250
Author(s):  
Ran Hirschl
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Court System ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
The Supreme Court

The Courts, Ian Greene, The Canadian Democratic Audit Series; Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2006, pp. xvii, 182.This book is another welcome addition to the Canadian Democratic Audit Series. It sets out to assess the democratic credentials of Canada's judiciary—a most significant branch of government in post-1982 Canada. The book's approach is refreshing in several respects. Instead of the traditional focus on the well-rehearsed debate over the questionable democratic credentials of judicial review, the book attempts to evaluate the adequacy of the Canadian court system in relation to three basic tenets of democracy: participation, inclusiveness, and responsiveness. Unlike most accounts of Canadian political institutions, it pays due attention to elements of the court system beyond the Supreme Court of Canada. In so doing, Greene is able to assess more accurately whether the Canadian judiciary as a whole is living up to that set of reasonable democratic expectations.

scholarly journals Be careful what you promise: Proprietary estoppel in Cowper-Smith v Morgan

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chin
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Canadian Experience ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
Court Of Appeal

Proprietary estoppel provides one of equity’s most powerful remedies. Estoppel is an equitable doctrine which arises when one party acts on the reliance of the promise of another. The promise and corresponding reliance creates a quasi-contract with reliance acting as an alternative to the consideration usually required in contracts. Proprietary estoppel is distinct from other equitable estoppels in that a proprietary estoppel can act as a ‘sword’ and form the basis of a cause of action. If all of the parts of proprietary estoppel are made out, a court can modify or create property rights to satisfy the equity.With regard to the Canadian experience, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recently noted that proprietary estoppel has received “somewhat uneven treatment in Canada.” It is within this context that the Court of Appeal for British Columbia split on the proper scope for the Supreme Court of Canada. In Cowper-Smith v Morgan, the Supreme Court of Canada has both clarified the test for — and arguably expanded the scope of — proprietary estoppel in the context of promises exchanged between children over their mother’s care during her lifetime. The fact that a party lacks an interest in the disputed property at the time of the promise does not negate the obligation of fulfilling the promise. Instead, when the party responsible for the expectation has or acquires sufficient interest in the property, proprietary estoppel will attach to that interest and protect the equity. This article will discuss the law of proprietary estoppel in other jurisdictions and how the Supreme Court of Canada has infused this remedy with greater flexibility to satisfy the equity.

scholarly journals The Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada, Florian Sauvageau, David Schneiderman and David Taras

2015 ◽  
pp. 459
Author(s):  
Michael E. Deturbide
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
The Supreme Court

Book review of <i>The Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada,</i> Florian Sauvageau, David Schneiderman and David Taras (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2006).

scholarly journals Class Size and Teacher Work: Research Provided to the BCTF in their Struggle to Negotiate Teacher Working Conditions

2021 ◽  
pp. 83-101
Author(s):  
Daniel Laitsch ◽  
Hien Nguyen ◽  
Christine Ho Younghusband
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Lead Author ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
High School Graduation Rates ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
The Supreme Court

This paper presents an update of a 2010-literature review on class size research completed as background in preparation of an affidavit on class size provided by the lead author in the case of British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v. British Columbia, argued before the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2010, appealed ultimately to the Supreme Court of Canada and ruled on November 10, 2016.  We find that smaller classes can improve teacher-student interactions and individualized instruction, decreasing time spent on discipline issues, leading to better student behaviour, attitude, and efforts. Smaller classes generally have greater advantages for younger students, and effects are more observable in class sizes of less than 20. Small classes may shrink achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, and increase high school graduation rates, and appear to enhance academic outcomes, particularly for marginalized groups. Researchers have detected class size effects many years later. Small classes have been found to boost teachers’ morale and job satisfaction. While some studies have found effects at the secondary and post-secondary level, results are generally inconclusive at this level. Finally, some researchers have argued that class size reductions are an inefficient use of funds which might be better spent elsewhere in the system. The paper concludes with a brief reflection on the process of providing this research for Supreme Court case.

Aboriginal Rights and Sustainable Development in Canada

1999 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-186
Author(s):  
Jane Matthews Glenn ◽  
Anne C. Drost
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Agricultural Area ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Aboriginal Title

This article explores briefly the relation between aboriginal rights and sustainable development in Canada, using as a vehicle for discussion the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia.1 This case involved claims by the Houses of Gitksan and Wet'suwet'en, comprising some 6,000 to 7,000 persons, to aboriginal title over separate portions of approximately 58,000 square kilometres of land in the interior of British Columbia. The territory is a rich agricultural area with vast forests and abundant wildlife.

scholarly journals Brave New Words: Labour, The Courts and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Fudge
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
New Words ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Brave New World ◽  
Nouveau Monde

In Health Services and Support – Facilities Subsector BargainingAssociation v. British Columbia, [2007] 2 S.C.R.391, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned precedent andconcluded “that the grounds advanced in the earlier decisions forthe exclusion of collective bargaining from the Charter’s protectionof freedom of association do not withstand principled scrutinyand should be rejected” (at para. 22). The author exploresthe Supreme Court of Canada’s change of heart and what thischange implies, not only for constitutional doctrine, but also forwhat the Court understands about the governance of the post-Fordist world of work. She situates the Court’s reasoning in afew key cases dealing with labour’s distinctive rights – to bargaincollectively and to strike – in the social context that both shapesthe legal discourse about labour rights and influences organizedlabour’s power. She considers the paradox of the Supreme Court’sembrace of Fordist labour rights in a post-Fordist economy, andsuggests a modest, though important, role that the Court couldplay in fostering social justice in the brave new world of work.Dans l’arrêt Health Services and Support – Facilities SubsectorBargaining Association c. Colombie-Britannique [2007]2 R.C.S. 391, la Cour Suprême du Canada a invalidé un précédentet a conclu que «les motifs avancés dans les arrêts précédentspour exclure les négociations collectives de la protectionaccordée par la Charte à la liberté d’association ne résistent pasà un examen fondé sur les principes pertinents et qu’ils devraientêtre écartés» (au para. 22). L’auteure explore le revirement de laCour Suprême du Canada et ce qu’implique ce changement, nonseulement pour la doctrine constitutionnelle, mais aussi pour ceque la Cour comprend au sujet de la façon de gouverner dans lemonde post-Fordiste du travail. Elle situe le raisonnement de laCour dans quelques cas-clés traitant des droits distinctifs des travailleurs– la négociation collective et la grève – dans le contextesocial qui à la fois détermine la forme du discours juridique ausujet des droits des travailleurs et influence le pouvoir du mouvementsyndical. Elle considère le paradoxe que la Cour Suprême épouse des droits des travailleurs Fordistes dans une économie post-Fordiste, et suggère un rôle modeste, mais important, que pourrait jouer la Cour pour favoriser la justice sociale dans le nouveau monde prometteur du travail.

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