And Justice for All? Five Cases that Changed Canada

• Week 1
  What is "justice" in the public domain—and how does it square with our commitment to the "rule of law?" How has the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms shaped the role of our courts in relation to parliament?
  • Beverley McLachlin, “Equality: The most difficult right”, 2001
  • Richard Foot, “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, 2018
• Week 2
  R v Morgenthaler (Supreme Court of Canada, 1988). Reproductive rights as a test of individual choice versus societal interest/morality.
  • “Twentieth anniversary of Regina v Morgenthaler”, 2008
  • “Reproductive justice is essential to gender justice”, 2022
• Week 3
  Delgammukw v BC (Supreme Court of Canada, 1997). Indigenous title to land versus Canada’s sovereignty over territory. What counts as "evidence" of Indigenous occupation of land?
  • Gerald Beaudoin, “The Delgammukw case” (2019)
  • Andrew Kurjata, “20 years ago, this court case changed the way Canadians understood Indigenous rights” (2017)
• Week 4
  The Quebec Reference (Supreme Court of Canada, 1998). Balancing the democratic right to secede versus federalism and respect for the rule of law.
  • Warren Newman, “Reflections on the 10^th anniversary of the Quebec Secession Reference” (2015)
  • Jennifer Taylor, “The Supreme Court and the legacy of the Quebec Secession Reference” (2015)
• Week 5
  Charkaoui v Canada (Supreme Court of Canada, 2007). National security as determined by the government of the day versus the individual right to due process/fair trial.
  • Amnesty International, “What is Charkaoui about?” (2017)
  • NB Media Co-Op, “Charkaoui becomes citizen after 19 years” (2014)
• Week 6
  Carter v Canada (Supreme Court of Canada, 2015). The right to end one’s life (assisted suicide) versus the state’s right (and duty) to protect life.
  • BC Civil Liberties Association, “Carter v Canada: The death with dignity case” (2015)
  • Andre Picard, “Ten years of MAiD, and suffering averted, is cause for celebration” (2026)
  • Globe and Mail, “Committee recommends Ottawa not extend MAiD to people whose sole condition is mental illness” (2026)

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Appreciate how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has reshaped the way our courts interact with parliament on key issues of justice
• Engage with the ever-present tension in a liberal democracy between individual rights and the state’s view of the public interest
• Recognize the impact of “landmark moments” that shift how we see and act on fairness in matters that affect all of society

• Lectures
• Participation in class discussions
• Readings and other supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
• Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)

No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.