By Lynda Collins * I. INTRODUCTION Until regulators start licensing chatbots to practice law, we will all need to contend with the reality that every lawyer is first and foremost a human being. And as scientific studies have told us again and again: “human beings need nutrition, we need exercise, we need purpose, and we […]

Allocution prononcée par l’honorable Marie-Paule Charette-Poulin* le 21 mars 2025, à l’occasion de la 19e Conférence Bastarache, tenue au Rideau Club à Ottawa. I. INTRODUCTION Distingués invités, chers collègues de la Faculté de droit de l’Université d’Ottawa, chère équipe de direction de l’Université Saint-Paul, chers étudiants et étudiantes, Le vice-doyen Yan Campagnolo nous a invités la lieutenante-gouverneure […]

By Stéphane Fournier*   I have read Vice Dean Yan Campagnolo’s speaking notes Réussir ses études en droit : une affaire de cœur.[i] They are very well thought out and focus on five elements for law school success. I have also read Professor Lynda Collins’ captivating article Part of the Solution: Cultivating Student Well-Being in […]

Par Stéphane Fournier*   J’ai eu l’occasion de prendre connaissance des notes d’allocution Réussir ses études en droit : une affaire de cœur du vice-doyen Yan Campagnolo[i]. Elles sont très interpellantes et portent sur le savoir-faire des étudiantes et étudiants. J’ai également eu l’occasion de prendre connaissance de l’article captivant Part of the Solution: Cultivating Student […]

By Gabriel Bichet*   Introduction The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal system provide firsthand evidence that the law can evolve with the times. Initially, as a reactive measure to the lockdowns beginning in 2020, virtual legal proceedings have now become an integral part of today’s access to justice. Virtual proceedings generally involve […]

Par Mel Cappe* et Yan Campagnolo**   La Cour suprême du Canada [ci-après « CSC »] vient de dissiper les doutes que certains pouvaient entretenir quant à la légitimité du secret ministériel et la nature confidentielle des lettres de mandat[1]. Dans l’arrêt Ontario (Procureur général) c Ontario (Commissaire à l’information et à la protection de la vie […]

By Mel Cappe* and Yan Campagnolo**   For those who had doubts about the legitimacy of Cabinet secrecy and the confidential nature of mandate letters,[1] the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has dispelled them. In Ontario (Attorney General) v Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner),[2] the SCC put an end to the judicial saga pitting the […]

By: Sonia Saroj Anand Knowlton Introduction In a world where technology is becoming increasingly integrated in the law and its enforcement, it is realistic to wonder whether legal officials could ever be completely computerized. In HLA Hart’s renowned The Concept of Law, the officials of a legal system play a critical role in upholding the system.[i] However, […]

The Ottawa Law Review Blog publishes short commentaries on contemporary legal issues by academics, legal practitioners, and law students. Submissions are accepted and published on a rolling basis.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian population mirrors the effect of poverty on Canadians. The pre-existing challenges associated with poverty were augmented due to the COVID-19 crisis.

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L’auteur est un diplômé du programme de common law en français à l’Université d’Ottawa (2022). Il remercie le Professeur Yan Campagnolo pour son aide réfléchie et son soutien indéfectible lors du processus de rédaction et de révision de ce texte. Il remercie aussi un de ses pairs, qui a fourni des suggestions attentionnées pour améliorer le texte. Finalement, il remercie le Professeur Kyle Kirkup pour ses conseils utiles et son soutien lors de la rédaction du travail qui a inspiré ce texte.

Les opinions exprimées dans ce texte appartiennent à l’auteur et ne reflètent pas celles de son/ses poste(s) ni de son/ses institution(s) affiliée(s).

[i] Société canadienne du sang, « La Société canadienne du sang éliminera le critère d’admissibilité visant spécifiquement les hommes ayant des rapports sexuels avec d’autres hommes », Société canadienne du sang (28 avril 2022), en ligne : [SCS-nouvelle].

[ii] Canadian Blood Services / Société canadienne du sang v Freeman, 2010 ONSC 4885 au para 3 [Freeman].

[iii] Eldridge c Colombie-Britannique (PG), [1997] 3 RCS 624, 151 DLR (4e) 577 au para 43.

[iv] DORS/2013-178.

[v] Voir Canada, Santé Canada, Ligne Directrice : Règlement sur le sang (lignes directrices) mis en vigueur le 23 octobre 2014 aux arts 6, 9, en ligne : ; Gouvernement du Canada, « Sommaire de décision réglementaire – Modification du délai d’interdiction des HARSAH au don de sang – Santé Canada », Santé Canada (15 avril 2019), en ligne : [Sommaire].

[vi] Canada (PG) c Karas, 2021 CF 594 au para 46.

[vii] Freeman, supra note 2 aux para 401–403.

[viii] Voir par ex Withler c Canada (PG), 2011 CSC 12 au para 69 ; Centrale des syndicats du Québec c Québec (PG), 2018 CSC 18 au para 33 [Centrale].

[ix] Voir Société canadienne du sang, « L’abc de l’admissibilité », Société canadienne du sang (2020), en ligne : .

[x] Vriend c Alberta, [1998] 1 RCS 493, 156 DLR (4e) 385 au para 107 [Vriend].

[xi] Centrale, supra note 8 aux para 28–29.

[xii] Première Nation de Kahkewistahaw c Taypotat, 2015 CSC 30 au para 20.

[xiii] Voir par ex Egan c Canada, [1995] 2 RCS 513, 124 DLR (4e) 609 aux pp 600–601.

[xiv] Ibid à la p 556.

[xv] Alberta c Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 CSC 37 au para 53.

[xvi] Voir par ex Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) c Whatcott, 2013 CSC 11 au para 106 [Whatcott].

[xvii] Voir Jacques Gallant, « Canada’s new blood donor policy still excludes many gay and bisexual men, critics say », Toronto Star (6 mai 2022), en ligne : [Gallant]. Voir aussi Sommaire, supra note 5.

[xviii] Rachel Savage et Elsa Ohlen, « What are the blood donation rules globally for gay and bisexual men? », Reuters (11 mai 2020), en ligne : [Savage].

[xix] Elizabeth Trovall, « Gays and lesbians in Chile now allowed to donate blood ». Santiago Times (25 avril 2013), en ligne : [Santiago Times].

[xx] Luiz DeBarros, « SA Finally Ends Gay Blood Donation Ban », Mamba Online (20 mai 2014), en ligne : [Mamba Online].

[xxi] Domantas Katelé, « Sveikatos apsaugos ministerija ruošiasi leisti homoseksualiems asmenims aukoti kraujo », LRT (15 décembre 2021), en ligne : .

[xxii] Suligoi B et al, « Changing blood donor screening criteria from permanent deferral for men who have sex with men to individual sexual risk assessment: no evidence of a significant impact on the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic in Italy », National Center for Biotechnology Information (11 juillet 2013), en ligne : .

[xxiii] Whatcott, supra note 16.

[xxiv] Savage, supra note 18.

[xxv] SCS-nouvelle, supra note 1.

[xxvi] Voir Gallant, supra note 17 ; Emma Prestwich, « Canadian Blood Services’ policy change still stigmatizes queer community, says HIV/AIDS advocate », Broadview (6 mai 2022), en ligne : .

[xxvii] Santiago Times, supra note 19.

[xxviii] Mamba Online, supra note 20.

[xxix] Voir Canada, Agence de la santé publique du Canada, Résumé : estimations de l’incidence de la prévalence, et de la proportion non diagnostiquée au VIH au Canada, 2014 (rapport) à la p 4.

Governments are resorting to incentives to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind them. Using Canada as a case study, this article discusses how governments have used positive and negative incentives to increase vaccination rates…

A copyright troll is a plaintiff who seeks damages for infringement upon a copyright it owns, not to be made whole, but rather as a primary or supplemental revenue stream …

Ontario suffers from an access to civil justice problem. Civil trials in Ontario are chronically delayed and backlogged, while the COVID-19 pandemic has done nothing but exacerbate this problem.

For many students in the province of Ontario, it is common to attend a school that is within a public or a Catholic school board, both of which are fully funded by the Government of Ontario.

New federal legislation to criminalize so-called “conversion therapy” holds promise as the most comprehensive Canadian legislative effort to date to ban these harmful practices. It is long overdue.

Canadians often struggle to fully grasp the makeup of Canada’s constitutional framework, especially with respect to the role of unwritten constitutional principles (UCPs).

This paper summarily lays out one potential legislative solution to poverty and homelessness in developed countries. This solution would be a government program offering loans to noncreditworthy individuals, repaid through additional, progressive taxation.

Canada is currently facing dual public health crises, though one seems to be struggling to garner quite as much attention. While in a short period of time the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused lasting impacts on the health…

The Ottawa Law Review receives blog submissions on a rolling basis and accepted posts are published weekly on Monday mornings. Submissions must adhere to our Blog Submissions Policy. Please email your blog submission with the completed BLOG SUBMISSION FORM to rd********************@*****wa.ca.

The Ottawa Law Review is pleased to announce its launch of the OLR Blog. The Ottawa Law Review maintains a long-standing tradition of promoting a diversity of opinion on contemporary legal issues. In this respect, the OLR Blog will encourage the legal community to further engage in timely discussions of these issues. Our goal is […]

Most individuals making political donations have higher incomes, social networks, and levels of political engagement.[3] These donor characteristics likely come as no surprise. As an aphorism goes, “money is the lifeblood of politics.”

Seymour Lipset’s foundational comparative account of Canada and the United States (US) sought to understand the differences between two countries that seem similar when compared to other countries.[1]