Reflecting on 40 years of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we speak with Professor Martha Jackman from the University of Ottawa about the right to health. In particular, we explore how the right has been litigated on section 7 and section 15 grounds to advance protection over social determinants of health—such as access to food, clean water, and housing—with varying degrees of success. This special episode was produced in collaboration with the McGill Journal of Law & Health.

The Afghanistan War and its legacy continue to exert a profound influence over Canada’s national security policy. In this episode, we reflect on Canada’s role within the war and the international humanitarian law that governed the conflict. We speak with Retired Maj Gen Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces (2010–2017), and Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell, Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame.

Although the reasonable person standard continues to be a useful tool in many areas of the law, it can also reinforce stereotypes of power and privilege. In this episode, we speak with Professor Mayo Moran about what a critical lens reveals about the shortcomings and limitations of the reasonable person standard.

Regulating online content is a complex issue that platforms and governments alike continue to grapple with. In this episode, we explore the Canadian Government’s Proposed Approach to Address Harmful Content Online and its potential impact on civil liberties.

We speak with Me Lex Gill, a public interest lawyer who co-authored a recent report on the pressing privacy, freedom of expression, and human rights considerations related to the government’s proposal.

Le projet de loi n° 96, la loi sur la langue officielle et commune du Québec, le français, a été présenté par le gouvernement de la Coalition Avenir Québec en 2021. Il propose plusieurs mesures pour renforcer et promouvoir la langue française au Québec. Bien que l’Assemblée Nationale du Québec a voté unanimement pour que le projet de loi 96 passe à la phase de consultation, certains ont remis en cause sa nécessité et sa constitutionnalité. Dans cet épisode, nous discuterons avec le professeur Guillaume Rousseau et Me Julius Grey sur les origines et les objectifs principaux du projet de loi 96 ainsi que les critiques les plus courantes formulées à son encontre.

In 2021, the Ontario Superior Court developed a new tort of online harassment. The tort was fashioned to respond to the outrageous conduct of the defendant, who incessantly posted malicious and defamatory falsehoods about the plaintiffs across various online platforms. But was the creation of a new tort necessary? And will it provide an effective solution for other victims of cyberbullying or internet harassment? Our guest is Iris Fischer, co-head of the Toronto Litigation Group at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Music by Alexander Shamaluev and IvyMusic from Pixabay.

A recording of the lecture delivered by Professor John Borrows at the McGill Law Journal's 2022 Annual Lecture. The Annual Lecture is a McGill Law Journal tradition that dates back to the 1980s. This year, Professor John Borrows spoke about the role students play in reshaping and growing the law and the legal field by collectively engaging in the process of making sense of the world around us. 

Three years following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, the role of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in regulating cannabis has yet to be adequately addressed, creating a state of legal uncertainty over questions about jurisdiction and control. Despite this uncertainty, some Indigenous nations have nonetheless begun to assert their inherent rights to self-government and regulate cannabis according to their own customs and laws. In this episode, we explore both the challenges the Cannabis Act has posed for Indigenous governments and cannabis entrepreneurs, as well as the flourishing “red market” of cannabis businesses that operate and are licensed under Indigenous laws and frameworks.