Top Five 2006: Young v Bella

Each year at OJEN’s Toronto Summer Law Institute, a judge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario identifies five cases that are of significance in the educational setting. This summary, based on these comments and observations, is appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.

Young v Bella, [2006] 1 SCR 108, 2006 SCC 3

A university student was suspected of abusing a child when she discussed this behaviour in a term paper without citing the story to the case study she found it in.  Her teacher and university reported her to Child Protection Services. The case went to the Supreme Court of Canada, and the court held that the teacher and university were liable for reporting her without having reasonable cause. The full decision is available here.