Subscribe:
RSS feed
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
There has been lots of analysis of the marathon Canadian election campaign, some of it reasonably sound, including about why the NDP plunged from first to third place so dramatically. However, the commentary has missed a central point. There has long been a myth that Stephen Harper is some kind of evil genius of political […]
September 25, 2015
Once every decade or so, the Supreme Court of Canada issues a decision in the field of utility regulation. These are invariably landmark cases that have a huge impact on the regulation of energy and other utilities across the country, and the tens of billions of dollars that these public and private companies collect from […]
March 8, 2015
Daylight saving time is supposed to reduce energy use. It does not. In the modern economy, the benefit of lighter evenings is lost through darker mornings. The extension of DST a few years ago had no material impact on North American electricity consumption. Switching back and forth twice a year is a pointless and misguided […]
February 10, 2015
What’s in store for oil prices? Here’s the basic tug-of-war of forces that will shape the trajectory of oil prices over the next two or three years. Oil prices have plummeted because production has risen sharply in recent years, particularly because of the American shale oil boom which has made the US a net exporter […]
December 17, 2014
I had occasion to participate on a panel at the Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector 2014 Conference organized by Lancaster House. The panel, “What’s on the Bargaining Table: Emerging Issues, Creative Solutions”, canvassed a number of topics including pensions, health and welfare benefits and work-life balance. The obligation to accommodate employees on the basis […]
October 27, 2014
Aside from the social media buzz that the public dispute between Jian Ghomeshi and the CBC has generated, Ghomeshi’s announcement that he will sue his former employer for $50 million, claiming “among other things, breach of confidence and bad faith” raises an interesting legal question: Do the courts have the jurisdiction to hear Ghomeshi’s claim? […]
April 2, 2014
I was legal counsel in a challenge to the introduction of mandatory Voter ID in Canadian federal elections. We argued that the government needed to provide a fail-safe mechanism to protect people’s right to vote. We said that people without the necessary ID should be able to swear a declaration confirming their identity and residence. […]
February 22, 2014
A few days ago, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision confirming a union’s right to personal contact information about the people it represents, in Bernard v. AG of Canada and PIPSC Under federal legislation, Elizabeth Bernard was able to opt out of membership in the union representing her government service bargaining unit, […]
February 9, 2014
Some of the trickiest situations unions face when representing members facing disciplinary investigations by their employers arise where the same activity has attracted the attention of the police. That is because the rules surrounding police investigations and workplace investigations are incompatible. One of our most fundamental democratic rights, enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights […]
January 26, 2014
The energy sector is one of the most complex and difficult areas of policy in the world today. Energy policy-makers and regulators face a three-cornered dilemma. The imperatives of each corner tend to defeat the others. The competing objectives are: 1. maintaining sufficient reliable energy supply 2. maintaining affordability and accessibility 3. mitigating climate change […]
January 25, 2014
Despite a wave of deregulation which came into vogue in the early 1980’s, many important services and systems we all rely upon are overseen by regulatory agencies and tribunals who set the prices for services, determine minimum service standards, and approve major contracts, projects and capital investments. Here in British Columbia, for example, our electricity […]
January 12, 2014
British Columbia deals with essential service labour disputes differently from most jurisdictions. Rather than the familiar game of industrial “chicken” (where unions press their strike actions as far as they can before government intervenes with back-to-work orders and lopsided arbitration) we have a “controlled strike” mechanism. The Labour Relations Board designates specified levels of services […]
November 13, 2013
There is no magic solution to the damage that our use of energy inflicts on the earth’s climate, other than conservation. Every other strategy has its downside of unintended consequences. That includes the use of renewable generation technologies. There is a growing push from US utilities to flatten out block or multi-tiered electricity rates to […]
February 11, 2011
Progressive groups are lined up on either side of the ongoing court hearing in BC about the constitutionality of Canada’s anti-polygamy law. That is not surprising, as the issues are complex and the best outcome is not at all obvious. What is Criminalized The crime of polygamy may invoke the image of coerced marriages of […]
December 2, 2010
In Canada today there are two entirely different concepts of the criminal law and its function. These concepts reflect fundamentally divergent views of the nature and role of the state and of authority within society. The adherents of each of these concepts are incapable of comprehending the other: there is no space for meaningful debate […]
November 25, 2010
Danny Williams’ announced retirement as Newfoundland Premier brought to mind my only encounter with him, which occurred in an unlikely setting. Carmela and I were waiting in Barcelona Airport on Canada Day 2009, waiting for our flight to Madrid while on holiday. The Premier of Newfoundland, flanked by an aide, came along and sat in […]
October 26, 2010
“As I sat in the Chief Joe Mathias Hall and listened to the riveting accounts of the legacy of this deliberate policy of brutalization, I thought of my own sheltered childhood in a White suburb of Toronto, and of the portion of my weekly Sunday School collection donations at Thistletown United Church that helped finance […]
Jim Quail's Blog 
October 20, 2015
0