“Everyone gets the same benefit” sounds like the definition of fairness until you look at who gets squeezed when the rules change. We start with a Surrey teachers’ parental leave top-up dispute that has taken a surprising turn: adoptive parents argue that equal top-up pay can still be discriminatory because adoption can bring immediate, higher support needs for children, including trauma histories, disability, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. We unpack how the policy evolved from older, birth-mother-only benefits, through earlier discrimination findings, and into a negotiated model where all new parents receive the same top-up. Then we dig into the key legal question now headed to the Human Rights Tribunal: can identical treatment create disproportionate harm that human rights law must address?

Next, we shift to criminal law and the rare reality of perjury charges. Michael Mulligan explains a case where a man, acquitted of manslaughter after a fatal one-punch incident, later pleaded guilty to perjury for lying under oath about whether his relationship had ended. We break down why courts treat perjury as so serious, how sentencing is assessed, and why the BC Court of Appeal upheld a 20-month jail term even where the lie might feel “peripheral.”

We close with consumer protection and the Competition Act concept of drip pricing, using the Honk Mobile parking app class action as a real-world example. Nearly a million people are part of the settlement, with an average claim around 35 cents, raising practical questions about notice, redemption by promo code, and whether small-dollar justice actually reaches consumers.

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Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

A government can detain someone for mental health reasons, but can it also force treatment without first asking a harder question: are they actually capable of deciding for themselves? We walk through a major British Columbia decision on involuntary treatment under the Mental Health Act, where the court finds a section 7 Charter breach because director-approved treatment can override a patient’s wishes without a meaningful capacity process. Along the way, we unpack why consent, bodily autonomy, and dignity are not optional extras in Canadian health law, even when the patient is involuntarily hospitalized.

We also dig into what changed midstream, including the repeal of “deemed consent”, and why that still didn’t fix the underlying problem. BC stands out compared with other provinces that use capacity assessments, advance directives, representation agreements, or substitute decision-makers to navigate informed consent and psychiatric care. The court suspends its ruling for six months, putting pressure on the province to amend the legislation or consider an appeal, while leaving the policy design to elected lawmakers.

Then we pivot to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling with national impact: Parliament cannot legislatively prevent judicial review of administrative decisions. Using the WE Charity conflict of interest complaint and Democracy Watch’s challenge as the backdrop, we explain how the rule of law and section 96 of the Constitution Act protect the superior courts’ core role in reviewing whether government power is exercised lawfully and reasonably. If you care about mental health rights, government accountability, and the real meaning of the rule of law in Canada, this one connects the dots. Subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review, then tell us: where should courts draw the line on state power?

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discssed.

One word can change everything when it comes from a legal regulator. We dig into the BC Law Society’s mandatory Indigenous education course, the controversy over how it described the Kamloops Residential School site, and why some lawyers pushed to add a qualifier like “potential” when claims have not been independently confirmed. When that request was publicly framed as racist and then amplified through the Law Society’s own channels, the dispute escalated into a defamation lawsuit and ended with a settlement that included revised course wording, removed material, and a carefully worded public statement.

From there, we zoom out to the bigger Canadian legal questions sitting behind the headlines: how professional regulators should communicate, how accusations of racism should be made responsibly, and what it would mean if governments moved toward criminalizing “residential school denialism” as hate speech. It’s a conversation about truth claims, harm, and the risks of turning contested facts into mandatory orthodoxy.

We also break down a BC Adoption Act decision that shows how consent really works when a step-parent adoption is opposed by a biological parent. A nine-year-old’s views, a father’s substance-use struggles, and the court’s “best interests of the child” analysis collide in a ruling that legally severs one relationship while still urging space for connection when it’s safe, and the child wants it. If you care about Canadian law, family law, defamation, and freedom of expression, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review with your take on where the line should be.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

Bail has become the go-to explanation for everything people hate about crime and disorder, but the law is more stubborn than the politics. We sit down with Michael Mulligan to sort out what Bill C-14 actually does, what it cannot do because of the Charter, and why the presumption of innocence and section 11(e) still drive the core rules of judicial interim release. If you have ever wondered why “just hold them until trial” is not a simple switch, this conversation puts real legal guardrails around the debate.

We also talk about the part that rarely makes headlines: the system’s capacity. When courts are overloaded and under-resourced, cases spill over, trials get adjourned, and everyone pays the price in time and public confidence. We explore the Supreme Court’s principle of restraint, why bail conditions must be tied to specific risks, and why legislative “reminders” may sound tough while changing little on the ground.

Then we pivot to two practical cases. First, a mistrial application after a witness under cross-examination violates a common order not to discuss evidence. We unpack the “fair trial” north star and the remedies a judge can use short of scrapping the trial. Second, we dig into privacy law and modern surveillance: police obtain a neighbour’s security video of an accused person’s front door without a warrant, and the court finds no reasonable expectation of privacy, raising big questions for anyone living around cameras.

If this helped you think more clearly about Canadian bail law, mistrials, and privacy rights, subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a review so more people can find the show. What part of this debate do you think is most misunderstood?

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

A campus sticker dispute, a GST mistake that snowballs for years, and a pre-COVID work-from-home fight all end up in the BC Court of Appeal, and the common thread is proof. We walk through a defamation claim tied to “I Heart Hamas” stickers attributed to a UBC social justice group and explain the first hurdle many people miss: whether the plaintiff is even a legal entity that can sue. When the “group” is an unincorporated association, the case shifts to an individual trying to show the publication points to him personally, and we break down how courts analyze identification in Canadian defamation law.

Next, we dig into a small business GST problem caused by bad bookkeeping advice. We clarify the GST small supplier threshold, why you can still owe uncollected GST, and when voluntary registration can help through input tax credits. The case also highlights practical warning signs: invoices that exaggerate qualifications, vague LinkedIn claims, and the “pay me cash with no invoice” request that should make any business owner stop and reassess.

Finally, we look at a human rights and employment accommodation claim involving a TELUS worker who wanted to work from home based on vague symptoms and a thin doctor’s note. The court’s message is blunt and useful: an employer’s duty to accommodate is judged on the medical information available at the time, not on a diagnosis that appears later. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review so more listeners can find these real-world legal takeaways.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

A province says a police misconduct record is sealed and destroyed. The Supreme Court of Canada says a fair trial can’t work that way. We walk through a major ruling on criminal disclosure and why it matters when the credibility of an investigating officer is on the line, especially where past discipline involves dishonesty or reliability. From Stinchcombe to O’Connor to McNeil, we connect the dots between first-party disclosure, third-party records, and the real-world question defence lawyers face: what information must the Crown provide so an accused person can properly challenge the case against them?

Then we pivot to the financial wreckage left behind by a long-running Ponzi scheme. When the operator is bankrupt and the money is gone, the bankruptcy trustee has one practical tool left: clawbacks. We explain “net winners” versus “net losers”, why payouts often aren’t profits at all but other victims’ funds, and how concepts like fraudulent preference and fraudulent conveyance can unwind transactions to spread losses more fairly. If you’ve ever wondered what happens after a fraud collapses, this is the legal playbook.

We close with a sharp lesson on conditional sentence orders (house arrest) and breach allegations. A late-night compliance check leads to a simple defence, “I slept through it”, and a deeper legal issue: can the Crown jail someone for the rest of their sentence without proving intention? The BC Provincial Court says mens rea still matters, and we break down what that means for curfews, door-answering conditions, and proof.

If you find this kind of Canadian law breakdown useful, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

A court ruling can change more than a headline, it can change how safe you feel about the basics: owning property and trusting the people who handle your money. We walk through a remarkable British Columbia Aboriginal title dispute connected to lands in Richmond and the Cowichan Tribes, where a private property owner tried to jump back into years of litigation after the trial decision raised alarms about fee simple ownership. When a judgment hints that Aboriginal title could affect private land, the stakes are not abstract. Think mortgages, resale value, and whether ownership still means you can sell without someone else’s consent.

From there, we step back and ask a bigger question about the role of courts in Canada. When legal interpretations create sweeping policy consequences, what does judicial modesty or judicial restraint look like in practice? We talk about why public confidence matters and why sudden shifts can create uncertainty that spreads far beyond a single case.

Then we pivot to employment law and personal finance with a wrongful dismissal fight involving an Investors Group advisor. We break down the difference between an employee, an independent contractor, and a dependent contractor, and why that classification decides whether notice is owed. We also unpack after acquired cause and how misconduct discovered after a firing can still justify termination. Along the way, we connect the case to a hard truth about financial advice in Canada: if you are not paying directly, commissions on mutual funds and investment products may be shaping the recommendation.

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Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

A province suing over opioids is one thing. A province passing a statute that makes it easier for itself to sue, then launching a sweeping class action on that foundation, is something else entirely. We walk through British Columbia’s opioid litigation strategy, the allegations about marketing and addiction risk, and how the Opioid Damages and Health Care Cost Recovery Act reshapes the usual civil rules around limitation periods, damages, and liability. If you’ve ever wondered what “government cost recovery” really looks like in court, this is the clearest real-time example.

We also unpack the Court of Appeal’s decision on class action certification, because that early procedural stage often decides the real leverage in mass litigation. We talk about what certification is actually meant to test, why appellate courts don’t treat appeals as a second kick at the can, and what it means when dozens of lawyers show up to fight over whether a case can proceed as a class action at all. Along the way, we flag a practical concern that’s easy to miss: cross-border enforceability and why a judgment that looks unfair can trigger resistance in other jurisdictions.

Then we switch gears to a BC civil forfeiture case involving a 2015 Dodge Challenger and allegations of dangerous driving. The fight isn’t just about speeding facts; it’s about whether the province can sell property before trial to avoid storage costs, and what “instrument of unlawful activity” means when no criminal conviction is required. If civil forfeiture, due process, and proportionality have ever seemed abstract, this one makes it concrete. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review telling us which issue matters more to you: opioid accountability or civil forfeiture powers.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.