The Legal Saga of Toronto’s Mayor: Rob Ford’s Conflict of Interest Case Explained

Rob Ford, Toronto’s controversial mayor, is currently involved in a legal battle that could result in him losing his job.

The legal saga began roughly three years ago in February of 2010, when Mr. Ford sent out donation requests for his football foundation to official city lobbyists using official city letterhead. Toronto’s integrity commissioner found that Mr. Ford’s actions violated city council’s code of conduct rules regarding the use of city staff and city resources. The violation occurred because Mr. Ford was using official city resources for a personal matter, which is generally not allowed. Mr. Ford was ordered to pay back the $3,150 donated to his football foundation.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/31/rob-ford-in-court/

Roughly two years later in February of 2012, Toronto’s city council had a change of heart and voted to overturn the order requiring Mr. Ford to pay back the money. Mr. Ford participated in this vote, without declaring he had a conflict of interest in the vote. A conflict of interest occurs when personal factors impact a decision (in this case, Mr. Ford’s vote). When someone has a conflict of interest, they are not able to fairly and objectively make a decision.

Shortly after the vote, a Toronto resident filed a conflict of interest lawsuit against Mr. Ford, claiming the mayor violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. In November of 2012, Judge Charles Hackland ruled that Mr. Ford was guilty and should be removed from office as a result.

Mr. Ford immediately launched an appeal and is allowed to stay in office until the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) has decided the appeal. If the ONCA agrees with the lower court’s decision, it looks as though Mr. Ford will be able to run in the next municipal election. The ONCA is supposed to release its decision early in 2013.

Stay tuned for an update on the fate of Toronto’s mayor!

 This blogpost was written by Brendan Stevens, a 2nd year law student at the University of Toronto. Brendan is a volunteer on the JFCY's PLE team. All legal content was reviewed by a JFCY lawyer. 

The Supreme Court of Canada Combats Cyber-Bullying

In September of 2012, Canada’s top court, the Supreme Court of Canada, struck a blow to cyber-bullies in a case called AB v Bragg Communications Inc, 2012 SCC 46.

Background

The rise of social media platforms has had a drastic impact on the way people communicate. Facebook, the social media market leader, now has roughly 1 billion users. That’s right; almost 1 in 7 people around the world are on Facebook. When used properly, websites like Facebook can have a positive impact on a user’s life. However, these websites can also be a very dangerous tool.

Cyber-bullying (the use of the internet to degrade another person) is becoming increasingly common. Bullies can now hide behind the veil of the Internet to harm their victims in a way that was previously not possible without the help of technology. Social science evidence has shown that cyber-bullying is linked to significant psychological harm in underage victims. As a result of this harm, victims of cyber-bullying are at an increased risk of dropping out of school and, in extreme cases, committing suicide.

The evidence also indicates that these unfortunate outcomes can be avoided if victims are allowed to anonymously report cyber-bullying incidents.

The Supreme Court Decision

In the case of AB v Bragg Communications Inc., the Supreme Court of Canada decided that victims of cyber-bullying have the right to pursue their attackers without disclosing their identity. In other words, victims of cyber-bullying can take legal action against bullies without having to reveal who they are. This was a difficult decision for the Supreme Court to make because it had to balance the interests of the victim against the freedom of the press and society’s interest in having an open, transparent court process.

In AB v Bragg Communications Inc., a fake Facebook profile was set up containing hurtful commentary and sexualized images of a 15-year-old girl. With the help of her father, the girl commenced a defamation lawsuit against her attackers. Defamation actions are intended to protect the reputation of individuals from unwarranted attack. The girl also applied to the court for an order protecting her identity throughout the legal proceedings.

The Supreme Court found that society’s interest in finding out the identity of cyber-bullying victims is not very important, especially when compared to the extremely important desire to encourage victims of cyber-bullying to report their attackers. The court therefore decided to ban the publication of any information that would uncover the victim’s identity.

The Supreme Court’s decision is an important step toward combatting cyber-bullying. 

If you or someone you know is being bullied, tell someone you trust right away, even though this can be very difficult to do. You can also call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 for more help in dealing with bullying.

Remember that legal action against bullies is an extreme step to take. Working together with school officials, parents and your peers to solve the problem is probably the best approach. Legal action should only be used as a last resort.

There are people out there – including Canada’s top court – that are on your side and here to help.

To read the case, click here.

This post was written by Brendan Stevens, a law student at the University of Toronto. Brendan is a volunteer on JFCY's PLE Team. Content reviewed by a JFCY lawyer. 

Fake ID and the Law: Video

Ever wondered about the potential legal consequences for getting caught with fake or borrowed ID?

Check out this video produced by the PLE Team.  Click here to watch the video!

Learn about the law around fake IDs in Ontario.  Watch these three teens as they learn about the possible consequences for getting caught with fake or borrowed ID.

A big thanks goes out to the YouTube Subcommittee of the JFCY PLE Team (Arif, Bilal, Christine, Lucas, Terence, Tracy, Brendan, and Andrea) for writing, planning, acting, filming and editing this video!







Click here to watch the video!

Teen Marriage: How Young is Too Young to be Legally Married?

Scenario:

Hannah, 16, and her boyfriend Shawn, 17, have decided to get married! They have been dating since Grade 9 and can’t wait to start their lives together. Shawn’s family is completely supportive of their future union and all their friends think they will be together forever. There is only one problem: Hannah’s father, Joe. Hannah’s family is very traditional and they believe Hannah and Shawn must wait until they are both at least 18 years of age in order to make such an important decision. 

Joe is especially stubborn. He has made it very clear he will not allow his 16 year old daughter to get married. Because she is a minor, he is forbidding her to tie the knot until she is at least 18. Hannah and Shawn don’t want to wait 2 years for Hannah to turn 18; they want to do it right away. Does Hannah need her parent’s consent to get married because she is under the age of 18?

Legal Information

Unfortunately for Hannah, her father is right in this case: in Ontario, you must get your parents’ consent to get married if you are between the ages of 16 and 18. Unless her father changes his mind, Hannah is going to have to wait until she is 18 years old to get married. This rule comes from s. 5 of the Ontario Marriage Act.

There are two exceptions to this general rule. People aged 16 and 17 whose parents are unreasonably refusing consent, or whose whereabouts are not known, can get married with a court order (see s. 6 of the Marriage Act) or permission from the Minister of Consumer and Business Services (see s. 10 of the Marriage Act).

However, these exceptions are not very commonly applied. In Hannah’s case, a court or the Minister would need to decide if her father was unreasonably refusing his consent, or whether he had valid concerns in wanting Hannah to wait until the age of majority to get married. 

Who Can Get Married in Ontario?

In addition to the age requirements discussed above, you and your partner must meet the following requirements:

• Marriage is voluntary. Both partners must enter the marriage because they want to. No one can force you to get married.

• You and your partner cannot be close relatives by blood or by adoption.

• You or your partner cannot already be married to someone else. If you are divorced, proof of your divorce must be presented to receive your new marriage license.

Since 2003, you may marry someone of the same sex (a man can marry another man, and a woman can marry another woman). Many countries are following Canada’s example and legalizing same-sex marriages as well. 

If you are under age 18 and living in Ontario, you can call Justice for Children and Youth (416.920.1633) to talk to a lawyer about your legal rights and getting married.

The scenario and comic were created by PLE Team volunteer Cemone Morlese.  Legal info was written by JFCY summer law student Brendan Stevens and reviewed by JFCY.