The concept of human dignity is an essential and inextricable element of equality rights. In Law v. Canada the Supreme Court united around the concept of dignity to determine section 15(1) cases. This test was abandoned in R v. Kapp, deciding that dignity was too abstract and subjective. This paper argues that the problems with the Law test did not come from the concept of dignity itself, but rather from the reasonable claimant test which focused on subjective feelings and legislative intentions. This paper presents an alternative conception of human dignity, which proposes that substantive equality should be a matter of equal concern based on two principles of human dignity: the principle of equal intrinsic value and the principle of personal responsibility. The analysis must be truly contextual, focused on the objective consequences of discrimination and the circumstances that create and foster inequality.

The recent financial crisis and subsequent sovereign debt distress in the eurozone has reinvigorated the debate over bailouts and sovereign debt restructuring. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of two approaches to debt management in addressing the practical challenges of debt workouts, particularly in relation to developing countries: a contractual approach and a sovereign bankruptcy approach. The paper uses an economic analysis of private law to analyze optimal solutions to those problems and proposes a flexible approach to debt restructuring. Drawing on theoretical research and experience from professionals in the technical aspects of the debt markets, the paper merges traditional solutions with the law and development concept of “odious debt”. It argues that potential legal elaborations of the concept of odious debt, shaped by a contractual approach, presents loan sanctions as an effective ex ante solution to contemporary problems of sovereign debt management a current climate of global sovereign debt distress.

This thesis is a timely response to the current developments of cultural forces which lead to honour killings in Canada. I believe that it is only through a detailed analysis of honour killings that Canada as a country can equip and prepare itself to deal with crimes of honour in the future. The aim of this thesis is to examine the crime of honour killing by elaborating the close linkage that it shares to the cultural regulations for the sexuality of women. The research also endeavors to resolve the existing dilemmas of balancing multiculturalism and diversity in Canada on one hand and counteracting the extreme violent cultural reactions, which are in clear violation of Canadian laws. I propose that, since the crime shares a crucial foreign element, being cultural pressure, a careful analysis of the honour killing situations in South Asian countries can offer vital inputs for policy analysis.

The Supreme Court of Canada has attempted several times to reform the way it approaches the issue of curial deference in judicial review. Each attempt however, has been in vain. This paper argues that the cause of this failure of each reform of the deference test proposed by the Supreme Court is not necessarily one of content, but instead one of structure. Each of the reforms retained a ‘multifactorial approach’ to the deference test, involving the weighing of several factors leading to a prescribed level of deference. Through critical analysis of the approach, and the postulation of an alternative, this paper argues that the multifactorial approach is what thwarts the Court’s intentions, and that it needs to abandon it should it wish to achieve clarity and coherence within judicial review.

This thesis examines issues related to security interest, especially the security that holds after acquired property as well as present property, which are caused by discharge under bankruptcy procedure. This thesis also examines security interest valuation issue under proposal under Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Both issues are related to the nature of security interest, which is, in my opinion, to hold the value of collateral at the time of realization. This thesis especially focuses on the security under after acquired clause, which holds interests in after acquired property as well as present property. In my view, the security on after acquired property has proprietary interest. It leads to the conclusion on the issue whether the security can attach to a property acquired after discharge.

This article offers an analysis of how environmental tribunals contribute to important advances in environmental laws. The article compares the legislative and adjudicative administrative processes and examines decisions from environmental tribunals and courts in Canada. The author also reviews developments in environmental protection legislation since the 1970s. Consideration is also given to whether environmental laws are better framed on a model of comprehensive rationality or an incrementalist approach. The article concludes such tribunals make significant contributions to environmental laws by articulating emerging principles of environmental law. In doing so, the author examines the legislative underpinning and characteristics of tribunals which enable them to articulate such principles, namely that the statute express as its purpose protection of the environment. Also, the tribunal should have expertise in environmental matters, permit participation by third parties in the proceedings, be independent and be accountable through providing written reasons and the mechanism of judicial review.

This paper explores the relative benefits of command and control, reflexive law and social licensing in ensuring oil industry compliance with environmentally sustainable practices and obligations. Recognizing why oil sands and their development are significant, the background and development are reviewed first, and then the focus is shifted to look at its economics including the benefits, uncertainties and environmental costs of development. This paper examines how lawmakers in Canada have failed to meet their respective obligation. Drawing on environmental provisions, case law and legal scholars’ articles, books and reports, this paper examines the very problematic issue of oil sands regulation. It proposes to provide an in depth analysis of each regulatory forms and their application to the oil sands. It concludes that in order to solve the oil sands regulation challenges, a collaborative stringent enforcement of regulation from both federal and provincial governments, oil industry and public Pressure is required.

This thesis examines current Canadian social policies aimed at ameliorating the position of informal caregivers of terminally ill and elderly care recipients. Using an ethics of care theoretical approach, the thesis critically evaluates federal and provincial income tax regimes aimed at increasing the financial security of caregivers, and also looks at the shortcomings of the Compassionate Care Benefit offered through the federal Employment Insurance Act. The evaluation reveals that the benefit has a very low up-take compared with initial estimates, and offers some explanations for its low use. A review of the caregiver policies in three European countries provide additional background for the final chapter of the thesis, which offers concrete and incremental solutions to the problems with the current social policies in place. The aim of this thesis is not to suggest sweeping reforms, but to offer affordable, practical, and politically feasible solutions that can begin to make a difference in the lives of caregivers.

This thesis focuses on Fraudulent migratory marriages by discussing two paradigms of such marriages, the Abandoned Brides Problem in India and the Fraudulent Immigration Marriages or Marriages of Convenience in Canada. It highlights some of the socio-economic and legal problems that may arise in these migratory marriages and explores the various legal solutions proposed as solutions to them. The solutions offered in these two instances require changes in two different areas of law, the first being Private International Law and the second Immigration Law.

This thesis addresses the complex relationship between the federal and provincial governments with regard to the creation and implementation of economic migration policies and programs. As immigration is subject to shared jurisdiction under the Constitution, provinces have begun to take up an important and ever-increasing role in immigration policy and have used it as an effective tool to reach regional economic and demographic objectives. However, devolving responsibilities for economic migration policy to the provinces raises questions about the proper balance between federal and provincial immigration powers. The thesis will address this issue by giving an overview of the current mechanisms in place that govern the division of immigration powers between the two levels of government, the main critiques on it and the theoretical framework that supports the choices made. It then tries to provide the reader with alternative approaches to the division of powers for specific elements of the immigration process.