11:00 am – 11:05 am

Welcome and Introduction

Speakers:
Garifalia Milousis, The Acacia Group (Ottawa, ON)
Filippo Titi, Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP (Calgary, AB)

11:05 am – 12:30 pm

SESSION 1: Reference Re Impact Assessment Act (Federalism)

On October 13, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada held, in a 5-2 decision, that the Impact Assessment Act, SC 2019, c 28, s 1 was unconstitutional in part, being ultra vires Parliament. The Supreme Court’s decision engages the evolving jurisprudence surrounding federalism and the division of powers. Please join our Panel to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision, including the dissenting opinion, and what the future of federalism and national environmental endeavours may look like.

Speakers: TBA

Moderator: David Wright, University of Calgary, (Calgary, AB)

12:30 pm - 12:45 pm

Break

12:45 pm - 1:30 pm

Session 2: Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Trafficking

In 2013, in the Bedford decision, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s prostitution laws . A year later, in 2014, the Federal Government passed the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), which responded to the Supreme Court’s decision in Bedford. The PCEPA adopted an asymmetrical criminalization or “Nordic” model, with particular focus on combatting sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Almost ten years later, the constitutionality of the provisions in the PCEPA that regulate prostitution is being challenged (in part) by the R c Kloubakov case and (in full) by the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v Attorney General (CASWLR) case. To date, the PCEPA has withstood constitutional scrutiny, but the legal and political debate around this issue persists. This panel will feature interveners in the CASWLR challenge, who will discuss the current legal regime governing sex work in Canada, explore the Charter rights engaged, and unpack the Ontario Superior Court’s decision in the CASWLR case.

Speakers: TBA

Moderator: Garifalia Milousis, The Acacia Group (Ottawa, ON)

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Lunch Break

2:00 pm - 2:45 pm

SESSION 3: Democratic Participation

On May 21-22 of this year, the Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to hear appeals concerning the constitutional validity of third-party spending limits imposed under Ontario’s Election Finances Act, RSO. 1990, c. E.7 in the case of Attorney General of Ontario v. Working Families Coalition (Canada) Inc., et al.. This case raises the question of whether such spending limits violate the informational component of the right to vote under section 3 of our Charter. With theoretical foundations and civil society weighing in, come hear our panelists address the discourse around the Charter protected rights of Canadian citizens to be informed and meaningfully participate in the political process as well as other issues concerning our democratic rights.

Speakers: Paul Cavalluzzo, Cavalluzzo LLP (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Monika Hanna, University of Toronto Faculty of Law (Toronto, ON)

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm

Break

3:00 pm - 4:25 pm

SESSION 4: Emergencies Act

In February 2022, the Federal Government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canada’s history, granting the Federal Government temporary powers to respond to blockades and protests known as the “Freedom Convoy”. The Public Order Emergency Commission, chaired by the Honourable Paul Rouleau, determined that the Federal Government met the threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act. Approximately one year later, the Honourable Justice Mosley of the Federal Court held that the Federal Government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was unreasonable. The Federal Government has announced that it will be appealing the Federal Court’s decision. Join our Panel to discuss the respective findings of the Public Order Emergency Commission and the Federal Court’s decision, and the Charter rights engaged by the invocation of the Emergencies Act in respect of the Freedom Convoy and future public demonstrations.

Speakers: TBA

Moderator: TBA

4:25 pm - 4:30 pm

Closing Remarks

Speakers:
Garifalia Milousis, The Acacia Group (Ottawa, ON)
Filippo Titi, Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP (Calgary, AB)