Constitutional
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April 09, 2026
Saskatchewan law society lists upcoming spring conferences
Saskatchewan’s law society has listed several upcoming conferences, including one exploring the use of mediation and another highlighting the contribution of Asian legal professionals.
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April 08, 2026
Ford government’s ‘special economic zone’ law facing constitutional challenge
Ontario’s controversial legislation allowing it to fast-track infrastructure projects is facing a constitutional challenge. A coalition of public interest and environmental groups is saying the Special Economic Zones Act (SEZA), which allows the province to establish areas where infrastructure and resource developments are exempt from provincial or municipal laws that might otherwise apply, violates s. 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which grants the legislature exclusive power to make laws.
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April 02, 2026
Federal review of Privacy Act focuses on data sharing, stronger privacy protections
The federal government has launched a major review of the Privacy Act, aimed at enabling greater use of personal data across institutions while strengthening privacy protections for Canadians, according to an April 2 release.
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April 02, 2026
B.C. proposes amendments for various Acts, changes to certain legal processes
On April 1, the B.C. government introduced the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2026 to the legislative assembly. If passed, the amendments will make changes to numerous provincial statutes, including those relating to judicial review, administrative penalty proceedings, statutory authority of correctional officers and more.
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March 31, 2026
B.C. proposes new process to resolve First Nations issues in environmental assessments
British Columbia is proposing amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act that would introduce a new process for resolving issues raised by First Nations during environmental assessments.
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March 31, 2026
Report finds 1,000-plus Charter breaches by Ontario police
Legal observers are calling for systemic change in response to a new report that found more than 1,000 Charter violations by police in a 10-year period — a number that is being called only the tip of the iceberg. The Unlawful Enforcers report, which was co-authored by Western University faculty of law adjunct research professor Sunil Gurmukh, found that officers from the five largest city police services in Ontario — namely Toronto, Peel, York Region, Durham Region and Ottawa — violated the Charter more than 1,000 times in over 600 reported court cases in a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025.
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March 31, 2026
What happens when a government can override constitutional rights? Canada is about to find out
One of the most consequential constitutional cases in recent Canadian history was heard this week. At issue is not only the validity of Quebec’s Act respecting the laicity of the State — commonly known as Bill 21 — but also a deeper question: what happens to constitutional rights when governments can override them in advance?
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March 30, 2026
PM launches process to select Justice Martin’s replacement on SCC bench
On March 30, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the process to “select the next judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, who will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Sheilah L. Martin.”
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March 30, 2026
N.B. to launch ‘centralized’ online bail hearings
New Brunswick is launching virtual bail hearings for select locations in a bid to free up court space, quicken access to justice and conserve resources. According to a recent news release, the launch is slotted for April 9 and will begin for “all bail hearings from Fredericton and Woodstock.”
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March 27, 2026
Bar association warns against premiers’ push to vet judicial picks
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is calling on the federal government to resist “politicization” of judicial appointments amid calls for change from several provincial leaders. CBA president Bianca Kratt, in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, said the process as it currently exists has “real strengths, above all its meaningful insulation from political considerations.”