Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (Floor Audio)

SCC Hearings Podcast · scchearings.ca

Unedited floor audio of oral arguments at the Supreme Court of Canada, i.e., in both English and French. Created as a public service to promote public access and awareness of the workings of Canada's highest court. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Court. Original archived webcasts can be found on the Court's website at scc-csc.ca. Feedback welcome: podcast at scchearings dot ca.

149 episodes

2mo ago latest

weekly cadence

English language

▶ Play latestRSS feed Website Government

https://scchearings.ca/feed-floor.xml

Episodes 149

Jordan Bilinski v. His Majesty the King (42030)
2mo ago · 3:14:20
In the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, the appellant was acquitted by a jury of one count of sexual assault. The appellant and complainant had three sexual encounters. It is alleged that before the encounters and again before the third encounter, the complainant had expressly stated the condition that the appellant wear a condom, and that during the third encounter, the appellant removed the condom. At trial, the appellant did not pursue the defence of honest but mistaken belief in communicated consent to sex without a condom, which would have amounted to a denial of mens rea for the offence of
His Majesty the King v. Terrell Burke-Whittaker (41786)
3mo ago · 3:11:09
On June 9, 2020, Mr. Burke-Whittaker attended a funeral for Dimarjo Jenkins, who had been shot and killed on a street in downtown Toronto on May 26, 2020. The funeral took place at a restaurant in North York. The parking lot behind the restaurant backed onto Highway 401. Late on the evening of the viewing, a vehicle driving on Highway 401 pulled onto the shoulder of the westbound lanes behind the restaurant. Someone in the car started firing shots into the crowd that had gathered in the parking lot. Many people in the parking lot ran into the building, but others stayed in the parking lot and
Richard Leonard Walker v. His Majesty the King (Day 2/2) (41703)
3mo ago · 2:19:41
During the course of an investigation under the Traffic Safety Act, a police officer attempted to effect a warrantless arrest of the appellant for obstruction under s. 129(a) of the Criminal Code. In a pre-trial application, the trial judge found that the police officer was not executing a lawful arrest, and therefore breached the appellant’s s. 9 Charter right not to be arbitrarily detained by attempting the arrest. The trial judge acquitted the appellant of assault causing bodily harm. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, and ordered a new trial. Argued Date 2026-05-20 Keywords Criminal l
Cynthia Prescott, et al. v. Benchwood Builders Inc., et al. (41794)
3mo ago · 3:14:45
The applicants, two homeowners, hired the respondent company, Benchwood, to renovate their home. Benchwood is a general contracting and construction management business, and the respondent Michael Slaven is one of its co-owners. There were several areas of disagreement between the parties during the course of the renovations. A heated discussion occurred between Mr. Slaven and one of the homeowners. Benchwood performed no further work for the homeowners following this incident.The homeowners subsequently discovered that Benchwood posted photographs of their home online to attract new customers
Ali Bhatti v. His Majesty the King (42107)
3mo ago · 1:16:18
The appellant was charged with firearms offences. Police had obtained a general warrant to detain the appellant and search for his phone. The search for the phone authorized by the warrant was limited to the person of the appellant and his immediate and surrounding area. The police stopped the appellant while he was driving. During the execution of the warrant, the police seized three cell phones as well as firearms from the appellant’s vehicle, including in a hidden compartment. The appellant successfully sought to exclude the firearms evidence from his trial pursuant to s. 24(2) of the Chart
Ville de Québec v. Jardins de Vérone S.E.C. (41748)
3mo ago · 2:12:42
The respondent, Jardins de Vérone S.E.C., owned land within the territory of the appellant, Ville de Québec (“City”). The land was officially designated as “serviced vacant land”, a particular that was included in the information concerning the unit of assessment on the assessment roll. On March 1, 2018, the respondent received a building permit from the City for the erection of a building with 109 dwellings. The work began on April 1, 2018, and was carried out without interruption as of that date. In July 2018, the respondent applied to the City’s assessment department to have the “serviced v
Attorney General of Quebec v. Xavier-Antoine Lalande, et al. (42152)
4mo ago · 3:25:34
This case concerns the constitutional validity of the Act to interrupt the electoral division delimitation process (“A.T.I.”) and the issue of whether its infringement of the right to vote guaranteed by s. 3 of the Canadian Charter is justified under s. 1 of the Canadian Charter. The A.T.I. has the effect of interrupting, until Quebec’s next general election, the process relating to the delimitation of Quebec’s electoral divisions made by the Commission de la représentation after every second general election in order to ensure that the delimitation respects the right to effective representati
St. John’s International Airport Authority v. Michel Thibodeau (41651)
4mo ago · 3:17:23
In January 2018, the respondent, Mr. Thibodeau, filed six complaints under the Official Languages Act, R.S.C. 1985 (4th supp.) (OLA) with the intervener, the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada against the appellant, St. John’s International Airport Authority (SJIAA) with regards to the violation of ss. 22 and 23 of the OLA related to the language of communication and services. In summary, Mr. Thibodeau alleged that the SJIAA: (1) has an exclusively English presence on social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram; (2) has a website with an English-only URL and of which the Fre
Moadd Maadani v. His Majesty the King (41972)
4mo ago · 1:08:11
The appellant was convicted of second-degree murder following a trial by a judge sitting with a jury. The central issue at trial was whether the appellant had acted in self-defence during an exchange of gunfire with the deceased.On appeal, the appellant brought a motion to adduce further evidence from a third-party witness, who would have testified to the deceased being the aggressor in the altercation, as well as evidence from the law clerk of trial counsel as to why the evidence was not presented at trial. The majority of the Court of Appeal concluded that the proposed fresh evidence from th
His Majesty the King in Right of Canada v. Damodar Arapakota (42061)
4mo ago · 1:12:17
The respondent, Damodar Arapakota, was charged with bribing a foreign public official, contrary to s. 3(1)(a) of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, S.C. 1998, c. 34. The Crown alleged that the respondent bribed an official with the government of Botswana by paying for the official’s family vacation in Orlando, Florida, in return for which the respondent received letters confirming the government of Botswana’s intention to award a contract to his company and confirming the value of the prospective contract. The trial judge found that the respondent conferred a material benefit on t
R.B.-C. v. His Majesty the King (41677)
4mo ago · 3:38:51
R.B.-C., an Iranian citizen in Canada on a post-graduation work permit, was convicted for sexual assault. More than 14 months after conviction, a conditional sentence of two years less a day plus probation was ordered. R.B.-C. applied for a stay of proceedings as a remedy for unreasonable delay during the sentencing phase of proceedings in breach of s. 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The motions judge applied R. v. Charley, 2019 ONCA 726, which adopted the framework set out in R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, and which set a five-month presumptive ceiling for post-verdict delay. After c
English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 4/4) (41231)
5mo ago · 3:32:20
The Act respecting the laicity of the State was passed and assented to on June 16, 2019. Its purposes include affirming the laicity of the state in Quebec and specifying the general obligations arising therefrom, prohibiting the listed persons from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of their functions and requiring those persons to perform their functions with their face uncovered. The Act also contains provisions through which the legislature exercises the override power granted to it by s. 52 of the Quebec Charter and s. 33 of the Canadian Charter and permits the Act to apply notwiths
English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 3/3) (41231)
5mo ago · 3:07:58
The Act respecting the laicity of the State was passed and assented to on June 16, 2019. Its purposes include affirming the laicity of the state in Quebec and specifying the general obligations arising therefrom, prohibiting the listed persons from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of their functions and requiring those persons to perform their functions with their face uncovered. The Act also contains provisions through which the legislature exercises the override power granted to it by s. 52 of the Quebec Charter and s. 33 of the Canadian Charter and permits the Act to apply notwiths
English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 2/2) (41231)
5mo ago · 3:18:33
The Act respecting the laicity of the State was passed and assented to on June 16, 2019. Its purposes include affirming the laicity of the state in Quebec and specifying the general obligations arising therefrom, prohibiting the listed persons from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of their functions and requiring those persons to perform their functions with their face uncovered. The Act also contains provisions through which the legislature exercises the override power granted to it by s. 52 of the Quebec Charter and s. 33 of the Canadian Charter and permits the Act to apply notwiths
English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (41231)
5mo ago · 3:37:24
The Act respecting the laicity of the State was passed and assented to on June 16, 2019. Its purposes include affirming the laicity of the state in Quebec and specifying the general obligations arising therefrom, prohibiting the listed persons from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of their functions and requiring those persons to perform their functions with their face uncovered. The Act also contains provisions through which the legislature exercises the override power granted to it by s. 52 of the Quebec Charter and s. 33 of the Canadian Charter and permits the Act to apply notwiths
Facebook Inc. v. Privacy Commissioner of Canada (41538)
5mo ago · 3:11:27
On March 19, 2019, the respondent, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada received a complaint under s. 11(1) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5 (“PIPEDA”) which raised concerns about the appellant Facebook’s compliance with the PIPEDA. The concerns were related to Facebook’s practice of sharing Facebook users’ personal information with third-party applications hosted on its platform. The complaint was filed in the context of reports related to a professor at the University of Cambridge, U.K., Dr. Aleksandr Kogan, who launched an application throug
Dayton Kelly v. His Majesty the King (42050)
5mo ago · 37:20
One evening in October 2021, the applicant was driving in rural southwestern Ontario. The sun had set and it was dark. The posted speed limit on the highway the applicant was using was 80km/h; he was travelling at least 116km/h. A horse-drawn buggy entered the roadway at an intersection. The applicant did not see the buggy in time to stop; his vehicle collided with it. Both occupants of the buggy died from injuries sustained in the collision. During the police investigation that night, the applicant admitted to being a chronic marijuana smoker and consented to providing two samples of his bloo
Aphria Inc. v. Canada Life Assurance Company, et al. (41665)
6mo ago · 2:35:46
The appellant, Aphria Inc. (“tenant”), entered into a ten-year lease for commercial office premises with the respondent landlords and successors (collectively, “landlord”). The tenant served a notice of repudiation on the landlord and vacated the premises. The landlord did not accept the tenant’s repudiation of the lease. Ultimately, the landlord sued the tenant for rents owing.The motion judge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the landlord summary judgment for the rent owing plus interest. The motion judge declined to grant the landlord judgment for future rent. The motion judg
Megan Rae Korduner v. His Majesty the King (41737)
6mo ago · 3:20:43
Ms. Korduner was a motor vehicle driver involved in a two-vehicle accident. A responding police officer questioned her at the scene for approximately three minutes, during which she stated that she should not have been driving because she was drunk. Ms. Korduner was arrested for impaired operation of a motor vehicle. She refused to provide a breath sample into an approved screening device and was charged for refusing to provide a breath sample. In voir dire proceedings to determine the admissibility of Ms. Korduner’s statements, the trial judge held that Ms. Korduner’s statements were compelle
Québec Major Junior Hockey League, now doing business as Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Inc., et al. v. Lukas Walter, et al. (41532)
6mo ago · 2:36:25
The respondents in these applications for leave to appeal, Mr. Walter and Mr. Gobeil, were recognized as representative plaintiffs for the class covered by a class action brought against the applicants/interveners in these applications for leave to appeal, that is, the Québec Major Junior Hockey League, now doing business as the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Inc., and the impleaded hockey teams that are members of the League. In the class action, the respondents submitted that the applicants/interveners were refusing to recognize major junior hockey players as having employee status, w
Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné v. Directeur général des élections du Canada, Directeur du scrutin de la circonscription de Terrebonne, et al. (42076)
6mo ago · 1:59:40
(Confidentiality order)Following the Canadian general election held on April 28, 2025, and the subsequent judicial recount, the respondent Tatiana Auguste became a member of Parliament for the electoral district of Terrebonne. Only one vote in her favour separated her from her closest rival, the appellant, Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné. One voter then notified the media that her special ballot, mailed within the prescribed time, had been returned to her after the polling day, marked [translation] “Moved or unknown – return to sender”. In fact, there was an error in the postal code that the return
Maxime Bergeron v. Assemblée parlementaire des étudiants du Québec inc., et al. (41566)
6mo ago · 2:18:03
Maxime Bergeron was expelled from a mock parliament organized by one of the respondents, the Assemblée parlementaire des étudiants du Québec inc. Some participants said that they were afraid of him because of his [TRANSLATION] “disruptive behaviour”. His father, Jean Bergeron, a lawyer, quickly became involved in the situation, seeking to have the expulsion decision revoked and to obtain reparation for the damage sustained by his son. The respondents filed a motion to have J. Bergeron declared disqualified.The Superior Court found that exceptional circumstances warranted declaring J. Bergeron
Sophia Hemmings, by her Litigation Guardian, Rosalie Brown, et al. v. Lloyd Gregory Padmore, et al. (41350)
6mo ago · 3:25:38
Sophia Hemmings was left with a severe brain injury after suffering cardiac arrest during a caesarean section at the respondent Scarborough Hospital (hereafter, the “Hospital”).The appellants, Sophia Hemmings, by her Litigation Guardian, Rosalie Brown, Rosalie Brown personally, Samantha Camile Gayle and Moses Hemmings, minors by their Litigation Guardian, Rosalie Brown, and Samantha Hemmings, commenced an action against a number of health care practitioners, alleging that their negligence had caused Sophia’s injuries. The parties agreed on the amount of her damages. The action went to trial, s
Gaétan Ouellet v. His Majesty the King (41785)
7mo ago · 1:12:56
The appellant, Gaétan Ouellet, was acquitted by Judge Garneau of the Court of Québec of a charge of sexual assault relating to three distinct incidents. On appeal to the Quebec Court of Appeal, the prosecutor raised four grounds of appeal.A majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial on the ground that the trial judgment gave insufficient reasons. The majority were of the opinion that for that same reason, it was extremely difficult and speculative to assess the well foundedness of the two first grounds raised by the prosecutor, but they were nevertheless of the
His Majesty the King v. Robert Joseph DeSutter (41754)
7mo ago · 1:04:10
The respondent, Robert Joseph DeSutter, was charged with various sexual offences and one charge of assault, in relation to three different complainants, M.H., S.H. and J.R. The trial judge acquitted the respondent of all charges except the assault charge, finding insufficient evidence of a sexual purpose in the respondent’s actions and the lack of an exploitative relationship. The appellant Crown appealed the acquittals in relation to two counts of sexual exploitation (counts 3 and 14), alleging that the trial judge erred in law by excluding from evidence images of women found on a USB stick a

Episodes

Reading the feed…

Also on scchearings.ca

Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (English Audio)

scchearings.ca

153 episodes · 2mo ago

More Government shows

Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (Floor Audio)

Episodes 149

Jordan Bilinski v. His Majesty the King (42030)

His Majesty the King v. Terrell Burke-Whittaker (41786)

Richard Leonard Walker v. His Majesty the King (Day 2/2) (41703)

Cynthia Prescott, et al. v. Benchwood Builders Inc., et al. (41794)

Ali Bhatti v. His Majesty the King (42107)

Ville de Québec v. Jardins de Vérone S.E.C. (41748)

Attorney General of Quebec v. Xavier-Antoine Lalande, et al. (42152)

St. John’s International Airport Authority v. Michel Thibodeau (41651)

Moadd Maadani v. His Majesty the King (41972)

His Majesty the King in Right of Canada v. Damodar Arapakota (42061)

R.B.-C. v. His Majesty the King (41677)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 4/4) (41231)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 3/3) (41231)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 2/2) (41231)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (41231)

Facebook Inc. v. Privacy Commissioner of Canada (41538)

Dayton Kelly v. His Majesty the King (42050)

Aphria Inc. v. Canada Life Assurance Company, et al. (41665)

Megan Rae Korduner v. His Majesty the King (41737)

Québec Major Junior Hockey League, now doing business as Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Inc., et al. v. Lukas Walter, et al. (41532)

Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné v. Directeur général des élections du Canada, Directeur du scrutin de la circonscription de Terrebonne, et al. (42076)

Maxime Bergeron v. Assemblée parlementaire des étudiants du Québec inc., et al. (41566)

Sophia Hemmings, by her Litigation Guardian, Rosalie Brown, et al. v. Lloyd Gregory Padmore, et al. (41350)

Gaétan Ouellet v. His Majesty the King (41785)

His Majesty the King v. Robert Joseph DeSutter (41754)

Episodes

Also on scchearings.ca

Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (English Audio)

More Government shows

The Republican Professor

Jaws of Justice Radio

Streams in the Desert LIVE!

A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

The County Conversation

Un Mundo de Sensaciones

Episodes 149

Jordan Bilinski v. His Majesty the King (42030)

His Majesty the King v. Terrell Burke-Whittaker (41786)

Richard Leonard Walker v. His Majesty the King (Day 2/2) (41703)

Cynthia Prescott, et al. v. Benchwood Builders Inc., et al. (41794)

Ali Bhatti v. His Majesty the King (42107)

Ville de Québec v. Jardins de Vérone S.E.C. (41748)

Attorney General of Quebec v. Xavier-Antoine Lalande, et al. (42152)

St. John’s International Airport Authority v. Michel Thibodeau (41651)

Moadd Maadani v. His Majesty the King (41972)

His Majesty the King in Right of Canada v. Damodar Arapakota (42061)

R.B.-C. v. His Majesty the King (41677)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 4/4) (41231)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 3/3) (41231)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (Day 2/2) (41231)

English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al. (41231)

Facebook Inc. v. Privacy Commissioner of Canada (41538)

Dayton Kelly v. His Majesty the King (42050)

Aphria Inc. v. Canada Life Assurance Company, et al. (41665)

Megan Rae Korduner v. His Majesty the King (41737)

Québec Major Junior Hockey League, now doing business as Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Inc., et al. v. Lukas Walter, et al. (41532)

Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné v. Directeur général des élections du Canada, Directeur du scrutin de la circonscription de Terrebonne, et al. (42076)

Maxime Bergeron v. Assemblée parlementaire des étudiants du Québec inc., et al. (41566)

Sophia Hemmings, by her Litigation Guardian, Rosalie Brown, et al. v. Lloyd Gregory Padmore, et al. (41350)

Gaétan Ouellet v. His Majesty the King (41785)

His Majesty the King v. Robert Joseph DeSutter (41754)