News & Events News At the Supreme Court of Canada – A busy fall for Goldblatt Partners

At the Supreme Court of Canada – A busy fall for Goldblatt Partners

September 30, 2026

The Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to hear 31 appeals this fall and we are very proud to note that Goldblatt Partners lawyers will be appearing in four of these important cases that will no doubt have a significant impact on our Canadian legal landscape:

October 13, 2026 – Durrell Diggs, et al. v. Attorney General of Nova Scotia, et al. (41801)

Goldblatt Partners’ lawyers are appearing on behalf of several interveners in this case. Adriel Weaver will appear on behalf of Queen’s Prison Law Clinic. Jessica Orkin and Amanda Bruce will appear on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Ikram Handulle and Saneliso Moyo act for the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC); Saneliso will appear alongside BLAC’s Executive Director and General Counsel, Demar Hewitt.

The case relates to the availability of habeas corpus to challenge a deprivation of liberty resulting from rotational lockdowns. The applicants, who were prisoners at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, filed habeas corpus applications arguing that persistent rotational lockdowns caused by staffing shortages had unlawfully deprived them of their residual liberty. The application judge declared that the lockdowns were unlawful. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal set the declarations aside, on the basis that habeas corpus is not available to review the legality of a loss of residual liberty caused by “systemic issues”.

October 15, 2026 – Ontario Place Protectors v. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario (41805)

Louis Century and Jamie Shilton will represent Greenpeace Canada as an intervener in this appeal, which relates to the redevelopment of Ontario Place pursuant to the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act enacted in 2023. The appeal concerns whether the government can legislate absolute immunity for its actions including those taken in bad faith. Greenpeace Canada will argue that the absolute immunity undermines the constitutional role of the superior courts as a forum for the independent adjudication of disputes. The appeal also concerns the status of the ‘public trust doctrine’ in Canadian law, which Greenpeace Canada argues should be recognized and affirmed.

October 16, 2026 – Consumers’ Union, et al. v. Air Canada, et al. (41866)

Tina Yang and Jamie Shilton will appear in this appeal on behalf of the intervener, Class Action Clinic, University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. This appeal concerns a consumer class action over the practice of “drip pricing”, where consumers are initially offered a low price, but further charges are added at the purchase stage. As an intervener in the appeal, the Class Action Clinic will be making submissions on the practical barriers faced by class members in consumer class actions. The Clinic will argue that remedies in consumer class actions should prioritize accessibility for class members. Accessible remedies ensure that the objectives of consumer protection legislation and class actions legislation can be given effect.

December 7, 2026 – Patricia North, et al. v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, et al. (41913)

Tina Yang, Jamie Shilton and Nina Patti will appear on behalf of the intervenor, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, in this appeal, which concerns whether consumers who unknowingly purchased defective and potentially dangerous goods can recover economic losses resulting from repairing the defect. PIAC will argue that any restrictions on recovery for pure economic loss should be applied in light of the significant bargaining and power imbalances inherent in consumer transactions and to avoid creating a moral hazard whereby consumers are left to bear the risks posed by dangerous goods despite having no practical ability to control those risks.

Best of luck to all of our advocates this fall!