Constitutional

Areas of Expertise

• Aboriginal rights
• Administrative law
• Charter rights and freedoms
• Discrimination
• Equality
• Federalism
• Freedom of expression
• Judicial review
• Tax

Representative Experience

Lawyers who practise at our firm have had the privilege of acting on many of the leading constitutional cases of the day, both under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Constitution Act generally. Among the many cases on which we have acted are:

• v. Kapp, 2008 SCC 41 on the requirements for equality rights claims under section 15(1) of the Charter and the legal test for the validity of affirmative action programs under section 15(2) of the Charter.
• Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General), [2004] 1 S.C.R. 76 on whether parents and teachers can use physical force to discipline their children;
• Reference re Same-Sex Marriage, [2004] 3 S.C.R. 698 on whether same-sex couples have the same right to marriage as opposite-sex couples;
• Vann Niagara Ltd. v. Oakville (Town), [2003] 3 S.C.R. 158 on whether municipalities can regulate the size of billboards;
• v. H., [1999] 2 S.C.R. 3 on whether same-sex couples have the same rights to family law support as opposite-sex couples;
• Vriend v. Alberta, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 493 on whether a provincial government can refuse to include sexual orientation as a protected ground under its human rights law;
• Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point v. Canada (Attorney General), [1998] 1 S.C.R. 756 on the validity of surrender of aboriginal title;
• Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217 on whether the Province of Québec can unilaterally separate from Canada;
• Re Eurig Estate, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 565 on the limits of Cabinet’s law-making powers;
• Consortium Developments (Clearwater) Ltd. v. Sarnia (City), [1998] 3 S.C.R. 3 on whether a municipal judicial enquiry constitutes a form of criminal inquiry;
• Symes v. Canada, [1993] 4 S.C.R. 695 on whether parents can deduct child care expenses from their incomes;
• Weatherall v. Canada (Attorney General), [1993] 2 S.C.R. 872 on whether cross-gender searches of male prisoners are constitutional;
• Thompson Newspapers Ltd. v. Canada (Director of Investigation and Research, Restrictive Trade Practices Commission), [1990] 1 S.C.R. 425 on the investigatory powers of the competition regulators under Canada’s Competition Act;
• Reference re Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Education Act (Ont.), [1987] 1 S.C.R. 1148 on whether expanding provincial funding for Roman Catholic secondary schools is constitutional.
• Multiple Access Ltd. v. McCutcheon, [1982] 2 S.C.R. 161 on the correct legal test to use in determining issues of paramountcy and, in particular, whether both the federal Parliament and the provincial Legislatures have the jurisdiction to enact legislation relating to securities.