A curated map of Canadian legal doctrine. Each entry sets out the current position, the governing authority, and the line of cases and statutes that shaped it — reviewed and dated, so you can trust it's current.
Section 15 guarantees substantive equality; it is infringed by a law that creates a distinction on a protected ground and imposes a disadvantage.
Evidence obtained in breach of a Charter right is excluded where admitting it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Canadian contract law recognises good faith as an organising principle, and imposes a duty of honest performance on every contract.
Ontario law recognises a privacy tort for a highly offensive intentional intrusion into another's private affairs, without proof of economic loss.
A Charter right can be limited if the government shows the limit is a reasonable one, justified under section 1 through the Oakes test.
Section 8 of the Charter protects a reasonable expectation of privacy; the state generally needs prior judicial authorisation to intrude on it.
A parent's proposed move with a child is decided on the child's best interests; since 2021 the Divorce Act sets out how those interests and the burden are assessed.
When sentencing an Indigenous offender, a judge must consider their background and circumstances and all available alternatives to imprisonment.
A corporation is a legal person distinct from its shareholders and directors; its rights, debts and liabilities are its own.
Spousal support is primarily compensatory, addressing the economic advantages and disadvantages of the marriage and its breakdown.
The Crown must disclose all relevant material to the defence, subject only to limited privilege.
A person owes a duty to take reasonable care not to harm those they can reasonably foresee being affected by their conduct.
An administrative decision affecting a person's rights or interests must be made fairly; how much process is owed varies with the circumstances.
A person charged with an offence is presumed innocent; the Crown must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
A court reviewing an administrative decision presumptively applies a reasonableness standard, reserving correctness for defined categories.
Delay above a presumptive ceiling — 18 months in provincial court, 30 months in superior court — is presumptively an unreasonable delay under section 11(b).