In Animal Justice v. Ontario (Attorney General), the Court allowed the appeal from the application judge’s finding that ss. 9 and 12 of the Regulation under the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020 infringed the respondents’ freedom of expression under subsection 2(b) of the Charter. This Regulation circumscribes the ability of animal rights activists to use false pretenses to gain access to farms in order to document and publicize animal mistreatment. The Court held that the application judge misapprehended evidence regarding the legislation’s purpose, incorrectly characterized the nature of the freedom of the expression claim, and interpreted the whistleblower exception too narrowly. Further, after applying the Oakes test, the Court concluded that any limits on expressive freedom were minimally impairing and proportionate to the legislation’s objectives of preventing trespass and protecting biosecurity.
Table of Contents
Civil Decisions
Animal Justice v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2026 ONCA 380
Keywords: Public Law, Agriculture, Constitutional Law, Freedom of Expression, Oakes Test, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss 2(b), Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 9, O. Reg. 701/20, Reference re Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Education Act (Ont.), [1987] 1 S.C.R. 1148, Irwin Toy v. Quebec (Attorney General), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 927, Montréal (City) v. 2952-1366 Québec Inc., 2005 SCC 62, R. v. Oakes, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103, Société des casinos du Québec inc. v. Association des cadres de la Société des casinos du Québec, 2024 SCC 13, Westcoast Energy Inc. v. Canada (National Energy Board), [1998] 1 S.C.R. 322, Jacob v. Canada (Attorney General), 2024 ONCA 648, R. v. Pike, 2024 ONCA 608, R. v. Sharma, 2022 SCC 39, R. v. Safarzadeh‑Markhali, 2016 SCC 14, Canada (Attorney General) v. Whaling, 2014 SCC 20, Frank v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 SCC 1, R. v. Brar, 2024 ONCA 254, R. v. Heywood, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 761, Bracken v. Fort Erie (Town), 2017 ONCA 668, Toronto (City) v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34, R. v. Keegstra, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697, R. v. Khawaja, 2012 SCC 69, R. v. National Post, 2010 SCC 16, Baier v. Alberta, 2007 SCC 31, R. v. Gibson, [1976] 6 W.W.R. 484 (Sask. Dist. Ct.), Lee v. Hersh, [1993] B.C.W.L.D. 1138 (S.C.), McAteer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONCA 578, Slaight Communications Inc. v. Davidson, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 1038, Hillier v. Ontario, 2025 ONCA 259, McKitty (Litigation guardian of) v. Hayani, 2019 ONCA 805, R. v. Zundel, [1992] 2 S.C.R. 731, Ruth Sullivan, The Construction of Statutes, 7th ed. (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2022), The Nature of Legislative Intent (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), Halsbury’s Laws of Canada, “Constitutional Law – Charter of Rights,” (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2023 Reissue), Andrew Botterell et al., Fridman’s The Law of Torts in Canada, 4th ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 2020)
Short Civil Decisions
Monteith & Sutherland Limited v. Novex Insurance Company, 2026 ONCA 384
Keywords: Contracts, Insurance, Coverage, Duty to Cooperate, Ruddell v. Gore Mutual Insurance Company, 2019 ONCA 328
Derenzis v. Ontario, 2026 ONCA 385
Keywords: Administrative Law, Institutional Bias, Constitutional Law, Charter Claims, Contracts, Insurance, Coverage, Statutory Accident Benefits, Civil Procedure, Evidence, Non-Party Production, Relevance, Materiality, Privilege, Deliberative Secrecy, Fresh Evidence, Costs
Keywords: Civil Procedure, Trials, Adjournments, Documents, Disclosure, Rules of Civil Procedure, Martin v. Sansome, 2014 ONCA 14
M.B. v. The Basilian Fathers of Toronto, 2026 ONCA 388
Keywords: Torts, Assault, Civil Procedure, Procedural and Natural Justice, Jurisdiction, Hart v. Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of the Diocese of Kingston, 2011 ONCA 728, Club Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda, 2012 SCC 17
Lynch v. Ross Wilson Holdings Ltd., 2026 ONCA 393
Keywords: Contracts, Real Property, Residential Tenancies, Enforcement, Eviction, Civil Procedure, Appeals, Stay Pending Appeal, Panel Review
Newton v. Grillo, 2026 ONCA 396
Keywords: Family Law, Civil Procedure, Appeals, Jurisdiction, Transfer, Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, ss. 19(1)(a.1), 6(1)(b)(i), 110(1), Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), Bernard v. Fuhgeh, 2020 ONCA 529, Whaling v. Whaling, 2025 ONCA 173, Dunnington v. 656956 Ontario Inc. (1992), 9 O.R. (3d) 124 (Div. Ct.)