Brook Greenberg

The appellant deposited a forged cheque into its account at the respondent bank.

The drawee bank cleared the cheque by mistake and the funds were credited to the appellant's account and subsequently transferred to related accounts.

Upon discovering the forgery, the drawee bank requested the return of the funds.

The respondent bank restrained the funds in the appellant's and related accounts and returned them to the drawee bank.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the drawee bank had a right to recover the money paid under a mistake of fact, as the appellant had given no consideration and had not changed its position.

The Court also held that the respondent bank was entitled to trace the funds into the related accounts at common law, as the funds remained identifiable.

The appellant posted federal election results from Atlantic Canada on his website before polling stations had closed in other parts of the country, violating s. 329 of the Canada Elections Act.

He challenged the constitutionality of the provision, arguing it infringed his freedom of expression under s. 2(b) of the Charter.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the publication ban infringes freedom of expression, it is a reasonable limit demonstrably justified under s. 1 of the Charter.

The majority found that the ban serves the pressing and substantial objective of ensuring informational equality among voters and maintaining public confidence in the electoral system, and that the salutary effects of the brief delay in publication outweigh its deleterious effects.