Top Five 2007: R v Bryan
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.
R v Bryan, 2007 SCC 12, [2007] 1 SCR 527
The accused was charged contrary to the Canada Elections Act for publishing election results from Atlantic Canada while polling stations were still open elsewhere in Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada was asked to determine whether the law prohibiting the transmission of election results was constitutional. A narrow majority of the court held that while this prohibition infringed the right to freedom of expression under the Charter, this limit on the right was justified because it ensured informational equality across Canada. The full decision is available here.