Past Section Events
June 22, 2011, 12:00 Noon (The Law Society Classroom): SCC Case of Withler v. Canada (Attorney General)
January 6, 2011, 12:00 Noon (The Law Society Classroom): CBA Standing Committee on Equity (SCE) RARE Finds Project
September 22, 2010, 12:00 Noon (The Law Society Classroom): EI Maternity and Parental Benefits for the Self-Employed
June 9, 2010, 12:00 Noon (The Law Society of Manitoba Classroom): 25 years of s. 15
Section Reports
2009/2010
2010/2011
Articles posted include:
Beyond Marriage: Current Issues in Gay and Lesbian Rights Litigation – Associate Professor Debra Parkes
This article was presented as a CLE at the 2008 Mid-Winter meeting. In the article, Professor Parkes briefly summarizes important cases that have dealt with gay and lesbian rights. She then proceeds to a discussion of issues that have emerged as a result of these rulings, especially in the areas of health law and remaining criminal prohibitions that may have a disproportionate impact on members of the gay and lesbian community. Professor Parkes finishes with a brief discussion of the controversy about how to balance religious rights with those of gay and lesbian individuals when it comes to same-sex marriage, with a focus on the cases involving marriage commissioners.
Sex and the Supreme Court – Obscenity and Indecency from Butler to Labaye – Professor Brenda Cossman
This article was presented as a CLE at the 2008 Mid-Winter meeting. Professor Cossman starts with a brief overview of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Labaye and the community standards test that arose from this decision. She then proceeds to give her personal view that rather than being a decision about indecency, as it appears on the surface, this decision was based on “sexual morality and the legal repression of sexual representation.” Professor Cossman then proceeds through a very brief summary of some decisions based on the community standards test. Finally, Professor Cossman explains the decision of the court in R. v. Labaye and how the two-part harm test that arose from this decision is a much better test than the community standards test. She explains the process of applying the two-step test, and finishes by questioning public reaction to the decision.
Prosecuting and Defending the “Sexy” Cases Post Labaye and Kouri – Sarah Inness
This article was presented as a CLE at the 2008 Mid-winter meeting. Ms. Inness explains the test that arose out of the companion decision of R. v. Labaye and R. v. Kouri. She argues that while a theoretical analysis and understanding of the Supreme Court’s shift to a pure harm based test is important and will invariably be relevant to prosecuting or defending these types of cases. The paper then summarizes the law and sets out the basic “nuts and bolts” of proving/defending such cases. Ms. Inness argues that it is important for both sides to appreciate the test, and explains the standard of proof and the evidentiary requirements now held by the Supreme Court of Canada to be mandatory, at least insofar as the prosecution of indecency is concerned.
