Dalhousie University
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Scholarship as Fun
Full text linkOne theme that traverses much of Pierre Schlag’s work is a sense of profound humanity—the idea that thinking and writing about the law can and should be a deeply, genuinely human activity—an activity for which we can, and should, break up many of the barriers that stand between us, between who we really are, and what we think and write. It is an activity for which we should put aside our pretences and insecurities and the attached formalisms and exaggerations behind which we so often hide, and which in the end constrain our humanity so much, as they take on a dynamic of their own, a siloed technocratic rationality. It is a theme based on a belief that human beings are fundamentally good, despite all their many quirks and imperfections and doubts and destructive traits. It is a theme based on a notion that our humanness is a resource that should be tapped rather than reined in
Conflicting Decisions: Why the Privy Council Drifted from Precedent in Deciding Cunningham v Homma
Full text link*This contribution has not been peer-reviewed.
This paper highlights the structural barriers to voting rights that Japanese-Canadians in BC faced in the early 20th century. It documents Tomekichi Homma’s challenge of provincial legislation which prevented the Japanese from voting in local elections. His fight went to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, then the highest court of appeal in Canada. While Homma challenged the law because it denied voting rights based on racial grounds, the courts made little to no reference to race or ethnicity in hearing the issue; their focus was on questions of constitutionality and the division of powers. The Privy Council employed questionable legal reasoning in dismissing Homma’s appeal, and departed from a recent precedent of theirs, Union Colliery, which promoted the employment rights of Chinese-Canadians in BC. This paper attempts to understand and explain why Homma was not successful before the Privy Council in the face of the Union Colliery decision.
Cet article met en lumière les obstacles structurels au droit de vote auxquels les Canadiens d’origine japonaise ont été confrontés en Colombie-Britannique au début du XXe siècle. Il documente la contestation par Tomekichi Homma de la législation provinciale qui empêchait les Japonais de voter aux élections locales. Son combat a été porté devant le comité judiciaire du Conseil privé, qui était alors la plus haute cour d’appel du Canada. Bien que Homma ait contesté la loi parce qu’elle refusait le droit de vote pour des motifs raciaux, les tribunaux n’ont guère fait référence à la race ou à l’appartenance ethnique lors de l’examen de la question; ils se sont concentrés sur les questions de constitutionnalité et de répartition des pouvoirs. Le Conseil privé a utilisé un raisonnement juridique discutable pour rejeter l’appel de Homma et s’est écarté d’un de ses précédents récents, Union Colliery, qui a promu les droits à l’emploi des Sino-Canadiens en Colombie-Britannique. Cet article tente de comprendre et d’expliquer pourquoi Homma n’a pas eu gain de cause devant le Conseil privé, compte tenu de la décision de Union Colliery
Good Deeds? A Critical Race Analysis of the Nova Scotia \u3ci\u3eLand Titles Clarification Act\u3c/i\u3e
Full text linkThe Nova Scotia Land Titles Clarification Act (“LTCA”) is remedial legislation that was enacted in 1964 to resolve insecure land titles within designated communities, particularly African Nova Scotian communities. However, African Nova Scotians had been advocating for legal title to their land for over 100 years prior to the enactment of the LTCA, and those demands were largely ignored by the government. Furthermore, despite the 60-year existence of this remedial legislation, many African Nova Scotians still hold insecure title to their land. Through a critical race analysis, this article explores why the LTCA has failed to achieve its promise to African Nova Scotians and attributes that failure to the converging interests which gave rise to the enactment of the LTCA but were insufficient to sustain transformative change. The author concludes that unless the motivations for racial equality change, the promise of prosperity for African Nova Scotians will not be achieved.
La loi sur la clarification des titres de propriété (Land Titles Clarification Act) de la Nouvelle-Écosse (“LTCA”) est une loi corrective qui a été adoptée en 1964 pour résoudre le problème des titres fonciers non sécurisés au sein des communautés désignées, en particulier les Afro-Néo-Écossais. Cependant, les Néo-Écossais d’origine africaine réclamaient depuis plus de cent ans des titres de propriété pour leurs terres depuis plus de cent ans avant la promulgation de la loi, et ces demandes ont été pour l’essentiel ignorées par le gouvernement. En outre, malgré les soixante ans d’existence de cette législation corrective, de nombreux Néo- Écossais d’origine africaine détiennent toujours des titres fonciers incertains. Par le biais d’une analyse raciale critique, cet article explore les raisons pour lesquelles la LTCA n’a pas tenu ses promesses à l’égard des Néo-Écossais africains. L’auteur conclut qu’à moins que les motivations en faveur de l’égalité raciale ne changent, la promesse de prospérité pour les Afro-Néo-Écossais ne sera pas tenue
Learning Canadian Criminal Law
No full textLearning Canadian Criminal Law, 16th Edition is a comprehensive text that provides vital background information and a coherent structure for understanding the law. Focusing on the substantive aspects of the criminal justice system and the trial context, this casebook covers the adversary system, how the elements of crime are proven, defences and sentencing practices.
The 16th edition continues to focus on tools students must acquire to be effective criminal lawyers, including critical skills. The aim is to explore substantive principles and the trial context: the purposes of punishment, the adversary system, how elements of crime are proved, principles of act and fault, legal justifications and excuses, and sentencing options. Integrated throughout is a consideration of the impact of the Charter. The focus is on major sources: the Criminal Code itself and key judicial decisions. Comprehension and critical review is facilitated by notes, questions, problems, and general review questions.
The 16th edition incorporates significant decisions affecting vital aspects of criminal law, and we have incorporated material reflecting those. Among the most notable developments are R. v. Brown in 2022, striking down the version of s. 33.1 of the Code that had been enacted following the 1994 decision in Daviault. Another notable decision is R. v. Khill from 2021, the first Supreme Court decision giving substantial guidance about how to interpret the defence of the person provisions in s. 34 as, enacted in 2013. Also included is the discussion in the 2022 decision in R. v. Kirkpatrick about condom stealthing and its impact on consent, raising the difficult question of whether the reasoning in that case is consistent with the Supreme Court’s prior reasoning on the issue in R. v. Hutchinson.https://digitalcommons.schulichlaw.dal.ca/faculty_books/1124/thumbnail.jp
\u3ci\u3eTrinity Western University\u3c/i\u3e Decisions and Engineers’ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Obligations Under the Statutory Public Interest Mandate
Full text linkEngineers create technologies but do not sufficiently care for their biased and inequitable outcomes despite the engineering profession’s statutory mandate to protect the public interest. The engineering and legal professions’ similar admission processes and statutory provisions mandating the protection of public interest may justify applying the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of the legal profession’s public interest mandate in the Trinity Western University decisions to the engineering profession. The Supreme Court’s interpretation centres on equal access to the profession, diversity within its membership, and protection of 2SLGBTQ+ persons. The work begins by setting out the definitions and challenges of equity, diversity, and inclusion (‘‘EDI”) and an overview of the Trinity Western University decisions. A comparison follows of the two professions’ attention to 2SLGBTQ+ issues to reveal the relative EDI progress of each profession and substantiate engineering’s need to adopt the Supreme Court’s EDI-centred interpretation of the public interest mandate. The work then compares the admission processes of the two professions and the provisions setting out each profession’s duty to protect the public interest to demonstrate their similarity and, therefore, transferability of the EDI-centred interpretation. The work concludes that the Supreme Court’s interpretation could apply to the engineering profession and impose on engineers an obligation to uphold EDI principles, including inattending to the potentially biased and inequitable outcomes of their technological creations
International Source Code Secrecy and the Characterization of Intellectual Property as National Security
Full text linkThis chapter explores the emergence of source code secrecy rules in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and their implications for the future of intellectual property (IP). Rooted in geopolitical rivalry, these rules are framed as safeguards for national security and cybersecurity but carry significant potential social, economic, and environmental costs.
It traces the historical and geopolitical contexts that have shaped the rise of source code secrecy. Given that software-dependent technologies are now the dominant modality of innovation, the chapter highlights the impact of source code secrecy on domestic regulatory oversight, innovation, the right to repair, and equitable technology transfer to least-developed countries.
The larger theme addressed is the growing entanglement of intellectual property with national security, evidencing a shift from private economic rights to IP’s appropriation for state control and geopolitical positioning. This securitization precludes the public interest dimensions of intellectual property. In turn, this undermines the TRIPS bargain and limits governmental discretion to pursue public interest objectives, such as fostering open innovation and knowledge dissemination.
Through an interdisciplinary analysis, the chapter critiques the opacity of source code governance and its negative impacts on democratic accountability, participatory innovation, the right to repair, and development-oriented global technology transfer. It argues that the gradual characterization of IP as national security risks exacerbating global inequities in access to technology and knowledge. The chapter concludes with a call for collective resistance and advocating for intellectual property norms that prioritize decentralized innovation, transparency, accountability, and the broader public interest
\u3ci\u3eR. v. Bykovets\u3c/i\u3e: An Affirmation of Canadians’ Right to Informational Privacy
Full text linkThe R. v. Bykovets decision illustrates how new technological realities can reconfigure societal norms and values in ways that demand recognition in the eyes of the law. This case commentary summarizes the Supreme Court’s 2024 Bykovets decision and situates it in jurisprudence on Section 8 of the Canadian Charter in relation to informational privacy. It also demonstrates how the normative approach applied by the SCC in Bykovets, which reflects increased accountability for third parties to safeguard individuals’ privacy, appropriately reconciles divergences in jurisprudence over time.
La décision R c. Bykovets illustre comment les nouvelles réalités technologiques peuvent reconfigurer les normes et valeurs sociétales d’une maniére qui exige une reconnaissance aux yeux de la loi. Ce commentaire de cas résume l’arrêt Bykovets de la Cour suprême de 2024 et le situe dans la jurisprudence sur l’article 8 de la Charte canadienne en matière de confidentialité des informations. Il démontre également comment l’approche normative appliquée par la CSC dans l’affaire Bykovets, qui reflète une responsabilité accrue des tiers dans la protection de la vie privée des individus, concilie de manière appropriée les divergences de jurisprudence au fil du temps
\u3ci\u3eThe Privacy Fallacy: Harm and Power in the Information Economy\u3c/i\u3e by Ignacio Cofone
Full text link‘‘Our privacy is besieged by tech companies,”1 laments Ignacio Cofone, Law Professor and privacy aficionado, in The Privacy Fallacy: Harm and Power in the Information Economy. In an enlightening yet harrowing discourse, Cofone draws on insights from behavioural science, sociology, and economics2 to argue that the widespread consent-based model of privacy is not only outdated, but untenable given modern data practices.3 Further, Cofone acknowledges the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in data processing, leading to novel challenges for the safeguarding of personal information.4 Thus, The Privacy Fallacy is more than just about privacy law’s shortcomings; it also raises questions about privacy in a world of rapidly evolving data practices stemming from advancements in AI. This book review builds on the discussion of AI in The Privacy Fallacy, drawing on Cofone’s insights as well contemporary AI scholarship, to advance two foundational arguments about navigating the artificially intelligent world of the near future
Metadiscourse markers in L2 source-based informative essays: An analysis of texts written by L2 undergraduate students
No full textImproving writing skills is considered essential for L2 students, especially in academic settings, reflecting part of the overall language proficiency (Teng et al., 2022). L2 writing complexity, influenced by internal and external factors, inspires the use of metadiscourse markers as valuable tools for self-reflection and communication (Casanave, 2017; Teng & Zhang, 2018; Hyland, 2004). Prior research has explored metadiscourse markers in L1 writing, contributing to proficiency improvements (Aull, 2019; Hong & Cao, 2014; Yoon, 2021; Lee & Deakin, 2016), within college students’ writing (Bax et al., 2019; Huh & Lee, 2016; Ramoroka, 2017), graduate theses and dissertations (Hussein et al., 2018; Ozdemir & Longo, 2014), and research articles and book reviews (Abdi, 2011; Gillaerts & Van de Velde, 2010). However, there is a limited examination of how these markers function in L2 college students’ source-based type of writing. This study, based on Hyland’s framework (2005), analyzes data from L2 college students’ informative source-based writing. Particularly, I will look at a total of 36 L2 informative, source-based, First-year writing program essays, with 16 essays in the higher-rated category (5258 words) and 20 essays in the lower-rated category (5169 words), collected from L2 students within the First-year Composition programs from two universities in the US. The essays were analyzed by a computerized program to produce comprehensive concordance lists of markers alongside essential information about the prompts and the authors, enabling analyses to explore the diversity distribution and specific functions that metadiscourse markers serve in these essays. The findings reveal that higher-rated essays displayed a broader spectrum of metadiscourse features, fostering connections within essays and enhancing communication with readers. Furthermore, while engagement markers, particularly imperative directive features, were preferred by students from both proficiency groups to establish a direct relationship with readers, various subtypes of hedges and boosters also stand out, especially in a higher-rated group, as productive tools for expressing specific shades of certainty and commitment. Lastly, highly frequent usage of self-mentions in lower-rated essays can signal students’ preference towards expressing ideas from personal perspectives and possible struggles in critically synthesizing source texts into statements. In summary, understanding metadiscourse markers used in L2 writing helps students with tools to enhance writing communication, provide insights for teachers in improving teaching approaches, and inspire further scholarly discourse.EnglishCollege of Liberal Art
