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Beneath the Law

Stories and Strategies

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If “No One is Above the Law,” then everyone is beneath it. Beneath the Law is a frank discussion between two lawyers who have lived and breathed the legal system in Canada for over 30 years. In this podcast hosts Stephen Thiele and Gavin Tighe of Gardiner Roberts, examine the arguments made in some highly contentious, and public cases, with a focus on the intersection between law and politics and where courtrooms become part of the political arena. In each episode Beneath the Law digs into i ...
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In this episode, we embark on another Irish adventure with the first part (of two) of "The Voyage of the Uí Corra," in which we don't actually set sail until final paragraph.Today's Texts"The Voyage of the Hui Corra." Translated by Whitley Stokes. Revue Celtique, vol. 14, 1893, pp. 22-69. Internet Archive.References"Book of Fermoy." Royal Irish Aca…
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Send us a text Is our approach to drug addiction helping or hurting our cities? Gavin and Stephen tackle one of the most controversial issues in modern urban life: safe injection sites and the opioid crisis. The duo breaks down a controversial court injunction that temporarily blocked the government's plan to convert supervised injection sites into…
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Send us a text Ever been sued for making it rain? In this thought-provoking episode of Beneath the Law, Gavin Tighe and Stephen Thiele dive into the murky waters of vexatious litigants—those who weaponize the justice system for personal vendettas, harassing opponents with endless, frivolous lawsuits. From gladiator references to baby stroller brief…
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Send us a text In this episode Gavin and Stephen discuss the recent decision by the federal court on the challenge to the constitutionality and legality of the federal government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to the trucker convoy protest in Canada. They argue the protest was non-violent and did not pose a threat to the secur…
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Send us a text Have former US President Donald Trump’s legal battles exposed biases within the Us judicial system? How do you think the election of judges affects their impartiality and the perception of justice in the US? How does public confidence in the judiciary impact the overall health of a democracy? In this episode, Gavin and Stephen would …
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Send us a text It's a constitutional showdown. Gavin and Stephen discuss into the implications of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, particularly in light of recent events including the January 6th riots and legal actions concerning former President Donald Trump. They explore the historical context and application of the amendment, especi…
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Send us a text Judicial appointments spark controversy. In this episode, Gavin and Stephen dive into the contentious debate surrounding the political nature of judicial appointments in Ontario. They discuss Ontario Premier Ford's candid remarks on crime and bail, the inherent political process of selecting judges, and the criticisms levelled agains…
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Send us a text Ever wonder why you never read the fine print? In this episode, Gavin and Stephen look into the often-overlooked world of waiver of liability clauses. They discuss a recent British Columbia case where a mountaineering company's liability waiver was scrutinized after a climber was injured. They explain the importance of these clauses …
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Send us a text Is the media failing us with sensationalism? In this episode, Stephen and Gavin explore the controversial defamation lawsuit involving Canadian MP Han Dong and Global News. They discuss the critical issue of media responsibility in reporting, the allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian politics, and the resulting legal battle…
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Send us a text The Supreme Court of Canada has really stirred the pot this time. The issue is whether mandate letters should be subject to disclosure. Mandate letters are instructions or views given to cabinet ministers by the leader of a government. Sparked by CBC News' request for one collection of letters from 2018, the legal battle questioned t…
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Send us a text Background - October 2023 terrorist action in Israel in which over 1,000 people were killed by Hamas has led to war in the Gaza Strip - War has resulted in displacement of Palestinians and estimates of over 30,000 killed - In response, there have been numerous pro-Palestinian protest and anti-war protests, including at University cam…
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Send us a text Are the courts becoming the new political battlegrounds? Gavin and Stephen dive into the concept of "lawfare"—the weaponization of the legal system for political gain. Focusing on the Ontario Place redevelopment case, they explore the delicate balance between democratic governance and the courts' role as a check on power. As they ref…
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Send us a text In this episode we’re unwrapping the tale of the Banker’s Sandwich Scandal. You might have read the headlines. Szabolcs Fekete, a financial crime expert at Citibank was fired by the bank after claiming a two-sandwich lunch on expenses. He’d claimed he ate one sandwich for lunch then ate the second for dinner. But under closer scrutin…
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Send us a text Gavin and Stephen discuss a defamation case involving a social media influencer in Edmonton, Alberta. The influencer, Rosemary, had a falling out with a couple, leading to a series of defamatory posts about them on her Instagram account. The court found in favour of the couple, awarding the female plaintiff $50,000 and the male plain…
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Send us a text An ATV, a tragic turn, and a court decision that changed everything. Hosts Gavin and Stephen, dive into the Ontario Court of Appeal's ruling on de Roche v McInnis. The case unravels the duty of care owed not just by drivers, but by vehicle owners, accentuating the utmost importance of insurance and proper training. They reflect on th…
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Send us a text Hockey, scandal, and the law. Gavin, Stephen, and guest Lad Kucis review a controversial case that’s made headlines across the Country. It involves former members of the Canadian World Junior Championship hockey team, now facing criminal charges for an alleged sexual assault that occurred six years prior. Amidst the legal discourse, …
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Send us a text Weighing justice and prejudice in the Weinstein case reversal. In this episode, Gavin and Stephen explore the controversial overturning of Harvey Weinstein's conviction. They explore the nuanced and often polarizing landscape of legal standards, particularly focusing on the balance of evidence and the dangers of prejudicial character…
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Send us a text From defamed to victorious: A mortgage manager’s triumphant battle. In this episode, Gavin and Stephen discuss a case where the plaintiff, accused of fraudulently processing mortgages, was blackballed within the banking industry due to a defamatory alert. The court found the bank's defenses of justification and qualified privilege un…
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Send us a text An elderly widow scored a courtroom victory! In this episode, Stephen and Gavin dive into the gripping legal battle between a powerful Canadian bank and an elderly widow over a disputed $50,000 credit card debt. They unravel the complexities of the case, highlighting the bank's aggressive tactics, the widow's defense as an authorized…
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Send us a text Are you aware of the hidden dangers lurking in your restaurant orders and online agreements? In this episode, Gavin and Stephen discuss a tragic case involving a fatal food allergy at a Disney Springs restaurant. They dive into the legal complications that arose, particularly focusing on Disney's controversial attempt to force the ca…
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Send us a text There’s a scene in the 1931 film “Frankenstein” that conjures an easy image – an angry mob of people storm the castle of Dr Frankenstein armed with pitchforks. Nearly a century later we the people still have the same mentality, we just prefer to do it online. In 2013, a Nova Scotia woman, convicted several times under the Animal Prot…
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Send us a text Robert Pella was a candidate in the most recent municipal election running for Catholic School Trustee in the City of Toronto. He was running against an incumbent and fought a tough battle and lost… but by only ONE VOTE. He first went to the school board and asked for a recount. They refused. So, he had to go to court and won his cas…
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Send us a text Last month, Russell Brown announced he was stepping down as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. His resignation put a halt to the Canadian Judicial Council’s probe of a claim of misconduct directed against Brown related to an incident in the United States. And it means there won’t be a public report on the matter. Accounts of t…
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Send us a text In this episode Etobicoke Centre MP Yvan Baker discusses gun control in Canada and the US. Baker says government regulation is important in controlling firearms, but the debate is ongoing. Baker explains that Canada has traditionally had more restrictive gun laws than the US, but there is a growing desire for stronger action to preve…
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Send us a text Tom Hanks has warned his fans about a circulated AI-generated ad featuring him, clarifying he had nothing to do with the ad. Megan Fox has had issues with Lensa’s Magic Avatars, a popular AI art tool that creates stylized portraits based on user-submitted photos. Stephen Spielberg has expressed his nervousness about the impact of AI …
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Send us a text A recent decision by the Law Society against the firm Diamond and Diamond spotlights a pivotal aspect of law firm marketing, particularly within the personal injury sector. Gavin and Stephen dissect the case of Jeremy Diamond, a lawyer who facing penalty from the Law Society for misleading advertising. His firm was caught making fals…
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Send us a text Jordan Peterson’s clash with the College of Psychologists of Ontario has been controversial to say the least. In this episode, Stephen and Gavin highlight the profound ability to misunderstand argument, position, and opinion for a belief – and the growing divide in society when it comes to viewpoints and tolerance for alternative per…
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Send us a text Months ago, proponents of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, dismissed warnings from Meta and Google, believing their threats to remove news links from their platforms were mere bluffs. But inevitable has occurred with Meta taking action recently by actively blocking news links and sharing on Facebook and Instagram. The situation appear…
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Send us a text Anti Libel Chill legislation is a fairly recent change. Libel Chill is the fear of being sued for speaking your mind. An example of this is if a developer wanted to build something in a particular area but a grassroots ratepayer organization formed to oppose it. The developer might hire a legal team to essentially send the message th…
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Send us a text It’s a concept known as Sugaring or Sugar Dating. A website service created to connect generally older males with younger females. Sugar Daddies. The older men are generally expected to provide younger women with gifts and money. The expectations of the younger women can vary. A very old (and somewhat creepy) concept. But in this par…
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Send us a text Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gets a lot thrown at him. But in 2021 in southern Ontario, the CEO of the Peoples Party of Canada, a rival party, threw a handful of small rocks at him. Unquestionably that should never have happened. There’s no room for that in our society. Charges were laid and the accused acknowledged what he had done…
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Send us a text In June 2023, prosecutors for a case in New York filed a motion backed by six case studies. The defending attorneys looked at the case studies and scratched their heads… they never heard of these cases. It turns out the six cases had been found by the prosecuting attorneys using Chat GPT, the generative AI tool. As artificial intelli…
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Send us a text In late March 2023, a Manhattan grand jury indicted former US President Donald Trump on more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Sounds ominous. Is it though? Is a grand jury truly… Grand? A Judge in New York once said a prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich in front of a Grand Jury because the process is designed to do the pr…
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Send us a text Gavin and Stephen discuss the implications of digital footprints and privacy in the context of law and technology. Every action online leaves a digital footprint, which can be used in legal cases to determine when a document was created. They also discuss the issue of privacy in the workplace, particularly when employers provide devi…
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Send us a text There’s a clear regulatory gap in the world of temporary rentals like Airbnb’s. Long-term Airbnb stays face challenges which is clear from a recent Toronto Star story. A couple from Switzerland booked a 10-month Airbnb stay in midtown Toronto. Everything seemed fine with the couple settling in and getting along well with the landlord…
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Send us a text Emojis… widely used in digital communication to convey emotions, actions, or ideas, haven’t typically been universally recognized as legally binding symbols in formal contracts or agreements. Until now. A recent decision at the Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan found the thumbs-up emoji (👍) constituted acceptance of a contract t…
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Send us a text If you own a property bordering a golf course you know the risk involved. Stray shots will see golf balls enter your property or maybe even hit your house. Who is responsible for damages? The homeowner? The Golf Course? The Golfer? As with all things involving the Law, it depends. There are various claims homeowners can make includin…
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Send us a text Gavin and Stephen discuss the intersection of law and sports, specifically focusing on incidents in hockey where players have been criminally charged or sued for their actions on the ice. There have been high-profile cases, such as those involving NHL players Dino Ciccarelli, Marty McSorley, and Todd Bertuzzi, who were all charged wi…
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Send us a text Let’s dive into a controversial issue. How about gender identity and the role of parents and schools in Canada? New policies by the governments of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, require parental consent for children under 16 to use different gender identity pronouns. In this episode Gavin and Stephen highlight the legal and politica…
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For this St. Patrick's Day, we finally present the last canonical text written by St. Patrick, his letter to Coroticus, completing the series we began in Episode 68 with the first half of Patrick's Confessio.Today's TextsPatrick. Epistola ad Coroticum. St. Patrick: His Writings and Life, edited and translated by Newport J.D. White, Macmillan, 1920,…
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This episode, we go into more depth with the legend of St. Kenelm (Cynehelm) and his jealous sister Quendrida (Cwenthryth). We also learn what it means to "crab the parson."Today's Text- "The Legend of St. Kenelm." Translated by John Amphlett in A Short History of Clent, Parker and Co., 1890, pp. 177-193. Google Books.References- Brand, John. Obser…
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We continue on from last episode's look at the Green Children of Woolpit with a further consideration of what it meant to wonder at a marvel in the middle ages, with additional illustration of some wondrous things from William of Malmesbury.Today's Texts- Gervase of Tilbury. Otia Imperialia. Edited and translated by S.E. Banks and J.W. Binns, Clare…
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Send us a text Are Toronto’s homeless encampments pushing the city to its breaking point? Gavin and Stephen sit down with Dana McKiel, former sports broadcaster and founder of Toronto's Downtown Concerned Citizen Coalition (DCCO). McKiel offers a firsthand look at the challenges faced by Toronto's downtown residents, highlighting the rise of homele…
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This Halloween marks our 10th anniversary, and we observe it by hearing the earliest written accounts of one of the most well-known pieces of medieval weird history: the Green Children of Woolpit -- and also hear the other less famous prodigies their story was originally presented alongside.Today's Texts:Radulphi de Coggeshall. Chronicon Anglicanum…
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Send us a text What happens when a water gun incident lands someone in court? Gavin and Stephen dive into the bizarre case of a 63-year-old woman charged with assault for spraying her neighbour with a water gun. What initially appears to be a ridiculous legal issue turns out to have deeper, darker undertones involving allegations of racism and long…
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