Welcome to Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t! This week, lawyer Kyla Lee discusses who gets to call a law unconstitutional.
Acumen Law Corporation lawyer Kyla Lee gives her take on a made-in-Canada court case each week and discusses why these cases should have been heard by Canada’s highest court: the Supreme Court of Canada.
Jonathan Gaudet was charged with simple possession offences under the CDSA. Because of statutes in place at the time, Mr. Gaudet’s case could only be heard in Provincial Court. Nevertheless, he filed an application in the PEI Supreme Court arguing that the law on which he was being charged was unconstitutional. He argued that he should have his case heard in the Supreme Court as opposed to Provincial Court because Provincial Court could not provide an adequate constitutional remedy.
The SCC missed the opportunity here to clarify how we can better use judicial resources to make findings of constitutionality in a way that will preserve those resources in the future.
Watch the video for more.
