Penney-Crocker et al. v Canada [Voting Age Challenge]
JFCY and the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights is representing a group of individual young people from across Canada in a constitutional challenge to the Federal Voting Age. The 13 young people range in age between 12 to 18 years old and hail from coast to coast to coast, including Nunavut, British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario,…
Read Full Case ArticleR v NM [access to youth records beyond access period, s 119 YCJA]
Court: Superior Court of Justice, 2022
In the context of a homicide trial of a young adult in the Superior Court of Justice, the Crown had in its possession the youth record of the accused, which it had obtained during the statutory access period provided for under section 119 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The access period had expired by…
Read Full Case ArticleThe Coroner’s Inquest into the Death of Devon Freeman
JFCY was granted standing as a public interest party at this Inquest which took place over four weeks in September and October 2022. Devon Freeman was a 16 year old Indigenous child and member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation. He was in the care of the children’s aid society and was living…
Read Full Case ArticleDK (by her Litigation Guardian) v York Catholic District School Board
Court: Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court Branch, 2022
JFCY acted as co-counsel with Torys LLP, representing Daria Kandaharian, a high school student who challenged her school board’s policy requiring its student trustees be Roman Catholic. In their October 6, 2022 decision, the Court found that the school board policy breached the Charter of Rights and Freedoms section that protects individuals from discrimination on…
Read Full Case ArticleCP v Her Majesty the Queen [YCJA, right of appeal to SCC]
Court: Supreme Court of Canada, 2020
JFCY intervened in this appeal about the requirement under the Youth Criminal Justice Act requiring a young person to “seek leave to appeal” on a finding of guilt to the Supreme Court of Canada where an adult would have an “automatic right to appeal”. Appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada are recognized as an…
Read Full Case ArticleSusan Hume Smith v Canada (Attorney General) and Justice for Children and Youth [CPP benefits]
Court: Federal Court of Appeal, 2023
JFCY has intervened in the appeal of a matter before the Social Security Tribunal. As a result of a disability, Susan Hume Smith (SS, the parent) is unable to work, and for many years has been the recipient of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit. SS was unaware that her children were also entitled…
Read Full Case ArticleLS v YouthLink Youth Services [transitional housing eviction]
Court: Court of Appeal for Ontario, 2022
In March 2020, LS was evicted by Youthlink Youth Services. She had been living at Youthlink’s transitional housing program, a type of supportive housing that provides residents with a place to live for at least one year, as well as supports to help them build the skills needed to transition to adulthood and to obtain…
Read Full Case ArticleJFCY v JG [young person’s right to legal advice]
Court: Divisional Court Branch, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, 2020
In December of 2019, the father of JFCY’s fourteen and a half year old client (“the child”) urgently sought and was granted a restraining order preventing JFCY from communicating with our client, effectively terminating our solicitor-client relationship. The child was not a party to the child protection proceeding that was before the Court, and was…
Read Full Case ArticleHer Majesty the Queen v RV and TCHC [access to youth records for eviction]
Court: Superior Court of Justice, 2020 ONSC 251
JFCY intervened in a judicial review where the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) sought the youth records of RV, a young person and TCHC resident, for use in an eviction proceeding against RV and his family under the “illegal act” provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act. RV had been charged with an offence on TCHC…
Read Full Case ArticleR v KJM [Unreasonable delays in Youth Criminal Justice system]
Court: Supreme Court of Canada, 2019
JFCY intervened in this appeal, which concerned the interpretation and application of section 11(b) of the Charter, the protection against unreasonable delay in bringing matters to trial in the criminal justice system. The Court was asked to consider how the “presumptive ceilings” for delay concerning adults, as established in the previous case of R v…
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