Last week, the Ontario Court of Justice issued a decision holding that Iran engaged in a terrorism offence in downing Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 in January 2020, and therefore is civilly liable under Canada’s Justice for the Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA) (and related provisions in the State Immunity Act). Craig invites Thomas Juneau, Leah West and Michael Nesbitt to discuss the background to this lawsuit and to the JVTA (and related State Immunity Act provisions). Leah and Michael then lay out their concerns and criticism of the Ontario court’s reasoning, also discussed in their recent blog post.
Read MoreWe’re back with the next chapter in our summer series, Muskoka Chair Chats on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This week Carissima Mathen walks us through section 2 of the Charter, guaranteeing “fundamental freedoms”. Most of our conversation is on freedom of expression, and we discuss what limits exist in section 2 itself on speech before discussing how a constraint on speech in the Criminal Code’s key hate crimes provision survived constitutional challenge on section 1 grounds, in the Supreme Court’s decision in Keegstra. Then we end the conversation with a quick look at another section 2 right: freedom of religion.
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Read MoreBecause of the proceedings underway before the International Court of Justice today (10 December 2019) concerning Myanmar’s genocide against the Rohingya, Stephanie and Craig to a walk-through of the crime of genocide, the 1948 Genocide Convention, the basis for ICJ jurisdiction and also the parallel criminal investigation launched by the (separate) International Criminal Court. It’s international law day.
Read MoreThe moment you have been waiting for! Stephanie, Craig and Philippe Lagassé are back for the next chapter in Canada’s rollicking constitutional history. In this chapter, we cover events from 1867 to 1982: imperial conferences, controversies and, not to be missed, the Colonial Laws Validity Act and the Statute of Westminster Act. A sideways dash through the King-Byng affair. And then a fast forward through to the Patriation Controversy on the early 1980s. Stephanie required adrenaline shots, but got through it.
Read MoreStephanie and Craig are back with Philippe Lagassé, for the second installment of our special feature: Her Majesty in Right of Pod, a deep-dive on the origins of Canadian public law and constitutional law.
Read MoreSophie Beecher, Director, Intelligence Policy, National Security Policy Directorate, Public Safety Canada joins Stephanie and Craig to walk through the Security of Canada Information Sharing Sharing Act (SCISA). SCISA was amongst the most controversial features of bill C-51 (2015). What changes does C-59 add to revamp the balance between security and privacy?
Read MoreThis is the INTREPID deep-dive on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which last week issued its first (very substantive) annual report. Stephanie and Craig are honoured to welcome to INTREPID the NSICoP’s Chair, David McGuinty, and its Executive Director, Rennie Marcoux.
Read MoreCraig and Stephanie interrupt their series of guest interviews to update listeners on news in the national security law and policy world.
Read MoreStephanie and Craig were honoured to sit down with Stéphane Perrault, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, to discuss elections security and the workings of Elections Canada in preparing for the 2019 election.
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