R. v. Jarvis:Former Lerners’ partner Gillian Hnatiw represents the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in this Supreme Court of Canada case, which considers a decision by a majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal that upheld the acquittal of a high school teacher who had used a camera pen to surreptitiously take videos of female students and of one female teacher, while he was conversing with them in school, and which focused on their chests and cleavage area.
Frank et al. v. Attorney General of Canada: Mark Freiman and Jameel Madhany represent the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an intervener in this Supreme Court of Canada case, which considers whether the government has the power to deprive Canadian citizens of the right to vote when it deems Canadian citizens to be “non-residents.”
Bowden Institution v. Khadr: Former Lerners’ partner Gillian Hnatiw represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case considering the interpretation of a foreign criminal sentence for purposes of implementing the sentence domestically, and the need to balance the offender’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, fundamental Canadian values and procedural fairness.
LC v. Alberta: Lerners’ Lucas Lung represented the plaintiffs in this class action involving a government department in a fiduciary relationship to vulnerable children who had been removed from their parents’ or guardians’ care by government authority that regularly failed to follow legislated requirements with respect to hundreds of children.
Miceli-Riggins v. Canada (Attorney General): Lerners’ Cynthia Kuehl acted on behalf of the appellant before the Federal Court of Appeal arguing that the combined operation of the proration and disability provisions in the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) had a discriminatory effect on women, particularly working mothers, contrary to s.15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Spence v. BMO Trust Company: Lerners’ Earl Cherniak represented the Respondents in this appeal of an order setting aside a will. The Respondents had brought an application to set aside the will of their deceased father, which disinherited the Respondents (the deceased’s daughter and grandson). The application judge set aside the will on the grounds of public policy, finding that the deceased had racist motivations.
Mavi v. Canada: Lerners’ Lucas Lung represented sponsors of family class immigrants who, for reasons beyond their control, had defaulted on undertakings they had given to the federal and Ontario governments to repay social assistance benefits given to their family members. The challenge to the matter, in which the governments enforced these so-called sponsorship debts, was pursued through to the Supreme Court of Canada.
SHRC v. Whatcott: Lerners’ Mark Freiman represented the Canadian Jewish Congress as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case considering whether Human Rights Commissions have the right to sanction hate speech.
Chaoulli and Zeliotis v. Attorney General in Right of Quebec: Lerners’ Earl Cherniak was counsel to 10 senators on a senate committee that completed a study of Canada’s health care system in a matter relating to the constitutionality of the current health care regime.
Chippewas of Sarnia Band v. Attorney General of Canada et al.: Lerners’ Earl Cherniak and Elizabeth Grace were counsel to the Band in an action for declaration of aboriginal title to land in Sarnia.
Representation of First Nations sexual assault survivors of pedophile ex-priest Ralph Rowe: Lerners’ Elizabeth Grace, Anna Matas, and former Lerners’ lawyer Gillian Hnatiw were counsel to First Nations sexual assault survivors of Ralph Rowe, an Anglican priest and Scouts Canada leader who was convicted of sexually abusing nearly 60 First Nations boys in remote communities over almost two decades.