Landmark Cases in Canadian Law

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Persons. Calder. Little Sisters. Chaoulli. Monsanto v. Schmeiser.

Since Confederation, Canada’s highest court – first the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England and then the Supreme Court of Canada – has issued a series of often contentious decisions that have fundamentally shaped the nation. Both cheered and jeered, these judgments have impacted every aspect of Canadian society, setting legal precedents and provoking social change. The issues in the judgments range from Aboriginal title, gender equality, and freedom of expression to Quebec secession and intellectual property.

UBC Press is proud to announce a new series – Landmark Cases in Canadian Lawwhich offers comprehensive, book-length examinations of Privy Council or Supreme Court of Canada decisions that have had a major impact on Canadian law, politics, and society. The inaugural book in the series, Flawed Precedent, analyzes the St. Catherine’s Milling decision of 1888, which defined the nature and character of Aboriginal title in Canadian law for almost a century and had a profound impact on the rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Showing 1-10 of 10 items.

Judging Sex Work

Bedford and the Attenuation of Rights

UBC Press

Judging Sex Work argues that a decision widely considered to be a victory for social justice weakened sex workers’ rights far more than it strengthened them.

  • Copyright year: 2024
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A Culture of Justification

Vavilov and the Future of Administrative Law

UBC Press

A Culture of Justification examines how a groundbreaking case involving undercover spies and a man’s fight for citizenship helped the Supreme Court of Canada forge a consensus on the future of one of the most important areas in Canadian law.

  • Copyright year: 2023
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Reckoning with Racism

Police, Judges, and the RDS Case

UBC Press

Reckoning with Racism is a riveting account of Canada’s most momentous race case, which drew in the country’s first Black female judge and spotlighted racist police practices.

  • Copyright year: 2022
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Debt and Federalism

Landmark Cases in Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law, 1894-1937

UBC Press

Debt and Federalism is the first complete account of the Canadian federal bankruptcy and insolvency power, showing how four landmark cases form the bedrock of the modern bankruptcy system.

  • Copyright year: 2021
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No Legal Way Out

R v Ryan, Domestic Abuse, and the Defence of Duress

UBC Press

No Legal Way Out tells the story of one woman who felt trapped in an abusive relationship – and in a system that gave her no way to escape.

  • Copyright year: 2021
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Constitutional Pariah

Reference re Senate Reform and the Future of Parliament

UBC Press

Constitutional Pariah is the first comprehensive account of the Senate in the aftermath of the landmark Supreme Court decision that resulted in one of the most significant reforms to Parliament in Canadian history.

  • Copyright year: 2021
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The Tenth Justice

Judicial Appointments, Marc Nadon, and the Supreme Court Act Reference

UBC Press

The Tenth Justice tells the complete story of one of the strangest sagas in Canadian legal history: the ill-fated appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada of Justice Marc Nadon.

  • Copyright year: 2020
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From Wardship to Rights

The Guerin Case and Aboriginal Law

UBC Press

This thoughtful and engaging examination of the Guerin case shows how it changed the relationship between governments and Indigenous peoples from one of wardship to one based on legal rights.

  • Copyright year: 2020
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Privacy in Peril

Hunter v Southam and the Drift from Reasonable Search Protections

UBC Press

This book, the second in the Landmark Cases in Canadian Law series, argues that in subsequent, post-Hunter v Southam decisions, the Supreme Court of Canada has strayed from the principles set out in that case, which were intended to protect the privacy of citizens from encroaching state power.

  • Copyright year: 2019
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Flawed Precedent

The St. Catherine’s Case and Aboriginal Title

UBC Press

This illuminating account of the St. Catherine’s case of the 1880s reveals the erroneous assumptions and racism inherent in judgments that would define the nature and character of Aboriginal title in Canadian law and policy for almost a century.

  • Copyright year: 2019
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