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Journal

Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

2019

Articles 1 - 30 of 43

Full-Text Articles in Law

Technology, The Changing Nature Of Disputes, And The Future Of Equitable Principles In Canadian Contract Law, Conrad Flaczyk Dec 2019

Technology, The Changing Nature Of Disputes, And The Future Of Equitable Principles In Canadian Contract Law, Conrad Flaczyk

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

There are a number of legitimate reasons to be excited about the application of new technologies to make contracting more efficient. Unfortunately, each of those reasons is associated with certain risks for both contractors and contractees. In this article, I argue that an ‘‘equitable” approach to modern contract law — understood by the likes of Larry DiMatteo and others ‘‘not merely as a system of rules, but of rules tempered by standards and principles” — is particularly well suited for counterbalancing some of the undesirable contractual risks introduced by new technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and smart contracts. A historical …


Subverting Democracy To Save Democracy: Canada’S Extra-Constitutional Approaches To Battling “Fake News”, Michael Karanicolas Dec 2019

Subverting Democracy To Save Democracy: Canada’S Extra-Constitutional Approaches To Battling “Fake News”, Michael Karanicolas

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Nearly a decade after the first Twitter and Facebook revolutions, the early narratives pointing to social media as a great agent of democratization1 have given way to a more nuanced understanding of the impact of the Internet on our political discourse. While there is no question that Internet access provides tremendous expressive benefits, scholars are increasingly questioning whether this information diet is ultimately healthy for society. An analogy to sugars, fats and salts has emerged, where just as an appetite for rich foods served our species well when resources were scarce, but have become a liability in an age of …


Developing A Privacy Code Of Practice For Connected And Automated Vehicles, Rajen Akula Dec 2019

Developing A Privacy Code Of Practice For Connected And Automated Vehicles, Rajen Akula

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Connected and autonomous vehicles (‘‘CAVs”) can collect, store, process and transmit vast amounts of data. Understanding the use (and potential misuse) of this data, particularly when that data is about an identifiable individual within the meaning of data protection law, is regarded critical to the success of this new mode of transportation. However, what constitutes personal information in relation to coneccted and automated vehicle data on a case-by-case basic. This presents a policy challenge for the government and creates uncertainty for businesses wishing to make use of this data.


Ethical Hacking By Alana Maurushat, Laura Ellyson Dec 2019

Ethical Hacking By Alana Maurushat, Laura Ellyson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Book Review of Ethical Hacking by Alana Maurushat (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2019).


Hiring Algorithms In The Canadian Private Sector: Examining The Promise Of Greater Workplace Equality, Connor Bildfell Dec 2019

Hiring Algorithms In The Canadian Private Sector: Examining The Promise Of Greater Workplace Equality, Connor Bildfell

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Private-sector employers are increasingly using hiring algorithms as a tool for screening job applicants, comparing qualifications, and ultimately determining which candidates should be selected. Within this context, hiring algorithms make no small promise: a hiring process that is not only more efficient and effective, but also more supportive of workplace equality. This promise rests largely on the notion that traditional human-driven models of hiring are beset by subjective biases and prejudices, whereas hiring algorithms, which are driven by hard data and objective evidence, can eliminate certain human biases and prejudices, thereby promoting workplace equality. But can hiring algorithms deliver on …


Privacy Law Issues In Public Blockchains: An Analysis Of Blockchain, Pipeda, The Gdpr, And Proposals For Compliance, Noah Walters Dec 2019

Privacy Law Issues In Public Blockchains: An Analysis Of Blockchain, Pipeda, The Gdpr, And Proposals For Compliance, Noah Walters

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Proponents of blockchain proclaim that the technology’s greatest innovation is trust. Blockchain create trust by serving as an indispensable ledger (a central point of truth), for all stakeholders to a transaction. Instead of companies managing and reconciling records of the same transaction in privately held databases, both sides of a transaction are recorded simultaneously on a shared ledger — the blockchain. As a result, the crypto economic environment is characterized by the decentralized coordination of business processes and transactions. Proponents of crypto-economics regard decentralized coordination as an opportunity for new forms of economic innovation, forms designed to increase value for …


Flying Under The Radar: Two Decades Of Dna Testing At Ircc, Ida Ngueng Feze, Gabriel Marrocco, Miriam Pinkesz, Jacqueline Lacey, Yann Joly Dec 2019

Flying Under The Radar: Two Decades Of Dna Testing At Ircc, Ida Ngueng Feze, Gabriel Marrocco, Miriam Pinkesz, Jacqueline Lacey, Yann Joly

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Since the early 1990s, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (formerly Citizenship and Immigration Canada) began using DNA testing technology in the processing of family reunification applications. Over the years, Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and family members living abroad have been increasingly suggested, or required to undergo DNA testing to either facilitate or enable them to reunite in Canada, under the family reunification procedure. This practice, although said to be rare, has since grown in popularity, and is used more extensively for applications coming from certain regions, including Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Through analysis of recent case law, this paper …


Introduction, Kim Brooks, Kim Brooks Dec 2019

Introduction, Kim Brooks, Kim Brooks

Dalhousie Law Journal

At Schulich, we see business law in a broad frame and understand that business law and policy includes the role of businesses in environmental protection, sustainable investing, inter-nation equity, and access to justice. We understand that businesses operate in broad social, economic, and political contexts, and as a community of scholars we care about the interactions of business law and policy with technology, governance and stakeholder rights, and economic, social and environmental justice. We hope that this collection advances vital scholarly and policy conversations.


A Survey And Critique Of The “Seller In Possession” Statutory Regimes Of Common Law Canada: An Abc Prequel, Clayton Bangsund Dec 2019

A Survey And Critique Of The “Seller In Possession” Statutory Regimes Of Common Law Canada: An Abc Prequel, Clayton Bangsund

Dalhousie Law Journal

The article examines the various provincial and territorial statutory regimes that apply to resolve title disputes emanating from a “seller in possession” scenario in which an initial buyer leaves bought goods in the possession of a seller who then transfers them to a subsequent bona de purchaser. Presently there are four distinct statutory models in force across common law Canada. Some provinces and territories incorporate modernized electronic personal property registry infrastructure into their statutory priority regimes, while others do not. The author undertakes a comparative assessment of the four models, highlights their strengths and weaknesses, and asserts that Model 2—representative …


Acceptance Speech For Lifetime Achievement Award From Canadian Prison Lawyers Association, Michael Jackson Qc Dec 2019

Acceptance Speech For Lifetime Achievement Award From Canadian Prison Lawyers Association, Michael Jackson Qc

Dalhousie Law Journal

Acceptance Speech for Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian Prison Lawyers Association


Disrupting Business As Usual: Considering Teaching Methods In Business Law Classrooms, Jeffery Hewitt, Shanthi E. Senthe Dec 2019

Disrupting Business As Usual: Considering Teaching Methods In Business Law Classrooms, Jeffery Hewitt, Shanthi E. Senthe

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)’s Calls to Action propose signimcant changes to legal education. No law school classroom is exempt, including business law courses. We are two of a growing number ofscholars in the legal academy actively incorporating Indigenous laws, critical race theory and socio-economic perspectives into business law courses as part of our responses to the TRC. This paper explores a field school we developed at Windsor Law as a response to the Calls to Action. In a temporary fusion of two courses, Secured Transactions along with Indigenous Peoples, Art & Human Rights, a synergy emerges …


Manufacturing Consent To Climate Inaction: A Case Study Of The Globe And Mail ’S Pipeline Coverage, Jason Maclean Dec 2019

Manufacturing Consent To Climate Inaction: A Case Study Of The Globe And Mail ’S Pipeline Coverage, Jason Maclean

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canada has long been a climate change policy laggard. Canada is among the world’s poorest-performing countries in terms of climate action—not only is Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions-reduction target under the Paris Agreement insufficiently ambitious, Canada is not even remotely on track to meet it. Canada’s enduring inaction on climate change is legitimized and sustained by its mainstream corporate news media, which contribute to the oil and gas industry’s capture of Canadian climate and energy policy. In this article, I examine how Canada’s leading national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, editorially framed the completion of the controversial expansion of the Trans …


Third-Party Liability Of Directors And Officers: Reconciling Corporate Personality And Personal Responsibility In Tort, Michael Marin Dec 2019

Third-Party Liability Of Directors And Officers: Reconciling Corporate Personality And Personal Responsibility In Tort, Michael Marin

Dalhousie Law Journal

When is a director or of�� cer personally liable in tort to a party who is not the corporation he or she serves? In Canada, there is no clear answer. The law is marked by division both within and between appellate courts, resulting in judgments that are hard to reconcile and verge on arbitrary. This is likely attributable to the mistaken belief that there is a tension between personal liability and corporate personality, as well as the disputed relationship between common law and statutory obligations. To address these challenges, most Canadian courts have followed a threshold corporate law analysis, which …


Reorganizations, Sales, And The Changing Face Of Restructuring In Canada: Quantitative Outcomes Of 2012 And 2013 Ccaa Proceedings, Alfonso Nocilla Dec 2019

Reorganizations, Sales, And The Changing Face Of Restructuring In Canada: Quantitative Outcomes Of 2012 And 2013 Ccaa Proceedings, Alfonso Nocilla

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article examines quantitative data on the outcomes of proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), Canada’s principal statute for resolving large, complex corporate insolvencies. In particular, this article compares the durations, direct costs, and returns to different classes of creditors generated by traditional reorganizations under the CCAA and by “liquidating CCAAs”—that is, proceedings in which the insolvent debtor sells substantially all of its assets rather than reorganizing itself. The article makes a number of contributions to the existing scholarship. Firstly, quantitative data on CCAA proceedings are rare. The data examined here, collected by the author from proceedings initiated …


Corporate Risk And Climate Impacts To Critical Energy Infrastructure In Canada, Rudiger Tscherning Dec 2019

Corporate Risk And Climate Impacts To Critical Energy Infrastructure In Canada, Rudiger Tscherning

Dalhousie Law Journal

Recent climate events such as Hurrican Harvey in Texas foreshadow the dangers that could result from critical energy infrastructure failure in Canada due to physical impacts caused by climate change. This article examines the types of climate impacts that could affect critical energy infrastructure in Canada. The article argues that these impacts translate into three types of corporate risk to the owners and operators of the critical asset: economic risks to the infrastructure asset; management and operational risks to the corporation; and risks arising from corporate disclosure obligations. Applying the theoretical approach of "risk management," the article concludes that, on …


Judicial Treatment Of Aboriginal Peoples’ Oral History Evidence: More Room For Reconciliation, Jimmy Peterson Dec 2019

Judicial Treatment Of Aboriginal Peoples’ Oral History Evidence: More Room For Reconciliation, Jimmy Peterson

Dalhousie Law Journal

Oral history is the only past record in many Aboriginal groups in Canada. In 1997, in Delgamuukw, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that the strict approach to evidence law with respect to oral history had to be relaxed for Aboriginal peoples to be able to pursue claims to Aboriginal rights or Aboriginal title. This was a necessary element of the attempt to achieve reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. Yet, while evidence law has become increasingly flexible when it comes to accommodating Aboriginal peoples, courts have struggled with how to value oral traditions. A review of the case …


Evaluating Canadian Tax Remission Orders: A Debt Relief Vehicle For Taxpayers, Samuel Singer Dec 2019

Evaluating Canadian Tax Remission Orders: A Debt Relief Vehicle For Taxpayers, Samuel Singer

Dalhousie Law Journal

Tax remission orders, although rare, serve important functions in the Canadian tax system. This paper draws from a comprehensive study of federal tax remission orders issued between 1998 and 2017. It presents general findings about remission orders in that time period, including remission order applications, their reported costs, and the number of remission orders issued. The paper identifies the five most common categories of reasons cited for granting remission orders. It then applies tax policy analysis to assess the two most frequent reasons for grating remission orders: to provide debt relief for financial hardship and/or extenuating circumstances, and to provide …


Privacy And Connected Objects, Nicolas Karsenti Jun 2019

Privacy And Connected Objects, Nicolas Karsenti

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Our society perennially seeks to multiply its connectivity in the name of greater efficiency. Over the past few years, several devices that had previously been quite basic have been made ‘‘smarter” in order to facilitate a consumer’s life. A recent study highlights that some of the most common reasons for using ‘‘smart” objects are home automation and remote control. Thus, convenience is driving companies, particularly appliance makers, to connect their devices to the internet in order to make them ‘‘smart”. These range from intelligent thermostats, smart fridges, connected pacemakers, smart watches and personal assistants (PAs) such as Alexa, Siri or …


Hardship And Hard Drives: Artificial Intelligence, Judicial Decision-Making, And The Discharge Of Student Loan Debt, Forrest Finn Jun 2019

Hardship And Hard Drives: Artificial Intelligence, Judicial Decision-Making, And The Discharge Of Student Loan Debt, Forrest Finn

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Section 178(1.1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act allows individuals to apply for discretionary relief from the non-dischargeable nature of student loan debts. Subparagraph (b) of this relief establishes a ‘‘hardship” requirement. The elements for this hardship requirement have been developed and applied by judges in the form of standards. The issue addressed in this paper is whether these standards are applied predictably. Using both statistical analysis and machine learning algorithms, this paper demonstrates that judicial decision-making on the hardship requirement is predictable. This predictability has significant implications. Most importantly it suggests that predictive software could be created for s. …


Big Brother Riding Shotgun: Internal Surveillance Of Semi-Autonomous Vehicles And Its Effects On The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy, Tunca Bolca Jun 2019

Big Brother Riding Shotgun: Internal Surveillance Of Semi-Autonomous Vehicles And Its Effects On The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy, Tunca Bolca

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The makers of autonomous vehicles (AVs) claim that their vehicles will reduce traffic accidents by 90 per cent and save millions of lives. Although this is yet to be proven, even if these new generation cars are made to be everything that the carmakers claim, accidents will still happen. Now, as the technology is progressing, governments and scholars are trying to come up with solutions to many legal, ethical and sociological problems the AVs will bring along.


Can We Trust Artificial Intelligence In Criminal Law Enforcement?, Sara M. Smyth Jun 2019

Can We Trust Artificial Intelligence In Criminal Law Enforcement?, Sara M. Smyth

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

With the rapid advances made by AI in the last few years, yet with so much of it happening behind the scenes, it’s no wonder that most people are both baffled and awestruck by the capacity for these systems to render humans obsolete. Until recently, much of what the general public knew about AI, robotics, and their superhuman capabilities came from Hollywood blockbuster films like Minority Report. While it’s true that these films, in fact, provided a surprisingly realistic portrait of the capabilities that AI can now deliver, there is still a real lack of understanding on the part of …


Law And The “Sharing Economy”: Regulating Online Market Platforms By Derek Mckee, Finn Makela & Teresa Scassa, John D. Gregory Jun 2019

Law And The “Sharing Economy”: Regulating Online Market Platforms By Derek Mckee, Finn Makela & Teresa Scassa, John D. Gregory

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.


Digital Evidence: A Practitioner’S Handbook By Gerald Chan & Susan Magotiaux, Robert J. Currie Jun 2019

Digital Evidence: A Practitioner’S Handbook By Gerald Chan & Susan Magotiaux, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.


La Saisie De Données Situées Dans Le Nuage En Droit Criminel Canadien, Laura Ellyson Jun 2019

La Saisie De Données Situées Dans Le Nuage En Droit Criminel Canadien, Laura Ellyson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

L’article 8 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés prévoit que « chacun a droit à la protection contre les fouilles, les perquisitions ou les saisies abusives ». Cette disposition a fait couler beaucoup d’encre depuis son adoption, mais aussi plus récemment en raison de son application aux nouvelles technologies. En effet, dans les 20 dernières années, la Cour suprême du Canada a adapté les principes généraux découlant des fouilles, saisies et perquisitions aux réalités informatiques nouvelles, notamment l’ordinateur et le cellulaire. Toutefois, l’émergence de nouvelles technologies est un phénomène qui ne cesse jamais. L’essor de l’infonuagique, ce modèle …


Moving On From The Ombuds Model For Data Protection In Canada, Teresa Scassa Jun 2019

Moving On From The Ombuds Model For Data Protection In Canada, Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Both the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Privacy Act adopt an ombuds model when it comes to addressing complaints by members of the public. This model is also present in other data protection laws, including public sector data protection laws at the provincial level, as well as personal health information protection legislation. The focus of this short paper is the model adopted in PIPEDA and its ongoing suitability. PIPEDA was designed to apply across the full range of private sector actors and is increasingly under strain in the big data society. These factors may make …


Canadian Immigration Law In The Face Of A Volatile Politics, Colin Grey, Constance Macintosh, Sarah Marsden Apr 2019

Canadian Immigration Law In The Face Of A Volatile Politics, Colin Grey, Constance Macintosh, Sarah Marsden

Dalhousie Law Journal

The genesis of this special issue was a conference of Canadian immigration law scholars at the Université du Québec à Montréal in March 2018. Conference participants sought to look back on the many changes made to Canadian immigration law during the near-decade the Stephen Harper-led Conservative government spent in power (2006–2015). Although the Conservatives did not introduce a single, revamped immigration law— the major legislation remains the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, brought in under the Jean Chrétien-led Liberals (1992–2006) in 2002—they altered parts of the law nearly beyond recognition. In this introduction, we reflect briefly on these changes; on …


The Battle For The Wrong Mistake: Risk Salience In Canadian Refugee Status Decision-Making, Hilary Evans Cameron Apr 2019

The Battle For The Wrong Mistake: Risk Salience In Canadian Refugee Status Decision-Making, Hilary Evans Cameron

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canadian refugee status adjudicators must choose between two opposing bodies of law, one of which resolves doubt in the claimant’s favour and the other at the claimant’s expense. How do they decide which to prefer? How do they decide whether it would be better to risk accepting an unfounded claim or to risk rejecting a well-founded one? This paper explores one potentially relevant factor: the salience of the harms that decision-makers associate with potential risk outcomes. A brief account of recent events in Canadian refugee law history, beginning with the refugee law reforms of former Conservative Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, …


Immigration, Xenophobia And Equality Rights, Donald Galloway Apr 2019

Immigration, Xenophobia And Equality Rights, Donald Galloway

Dalhousie Law Journal

One can readily identify a number of factors that, over the last ten years or so, have combined to reduce and destabilize the legal status and social standing of non-citizens who are seeking to enter or remain in Canada. Particularly conspicuous are the amendments to our refugee and citizenship laws that were introduced by the government that held power from the 2006 election until 2015, especially those harsh measures that were introduced after the government obtained a majority in the legislature in 2011.1 The changes in question were extensive and far-reaching. A shortlist of wellknown examples indicates the scope. Prompted …


Migrant Workers, Rights, And The Rule Of Law: Responding To The Justice Gap, Sarah Marsden Apr 2019

Migrant Workers, Rights, And The Rule Of Law: Responding To The Justice Gap, Sarah Marsden

Dalhousie Law Journal

Migrant agricultural workers provide an essential and longstanding contribution to food security in Canada. Exploitation and rights shortfalls for these workers are welldocumented. On paper, they have rights on par with Canadian workers, but these rights do little to address the structure and dynamics underpinning their subordination in Canadian society. In this article, I argue that law creates a “justice gap” in the case of these workers. Law gives rights to these workers on an individual basis but also creates structural vulnerability which renders them unlikely to make use of individual remedies or compliance-based systems. Rights and protection discourse does …


Quand Voyager Mène Au Renvoi: Analyse Critique De La Législation Canadienne Sur La Perte Du Statut De Résident Permanent Liée À La Perte De L’Asile, Hélène Mayrand Apr 2019

Quand Voyager Mène Au Renvoi: Analyse Critique De La Législation Canadienne Sur La Perte Du Statut De Résident Permanent Liée À La Perte De L’Asile, Hélène Mayrand

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper provides a critical analysis of section 46(1)(c.1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) adopted in 2012. The application of this section results in the loss of permanent resident status for protected persons who lose their refugee status under section 108 of IRPA, for example by renewing their passport and travelling to their country of origin, even for a short period of time. The combined effect of sections 46(1)(c.1) and 108 of IRPA pose major issues to Canadian protected persons. As a result, this paper explains the conditions for the application of section 46(1)(c.1) of IRPA and, …