Emily Sherkey

The defendant, owner of the Ambassador Bridge, brought a motion to strike the jury notice in a nuisance action commenced by property owners in Old Sandwich Town.

The plaintiffs claimed the defendant unlawfully allowed properties it purchased to deteriorate, reducing property values.

The defendant argued that widespread negative, defamatory, and accusatory pre-trial publicity in Windsor regarding its conduct and motives made it impossible to find an impartial jury.

The court agreed, finding a real danger that the cumulative effect of over a decade of negative commentary could predispose jurors against the defendant.

The motion was granted and the jury notice was struck.

The applicant, the Attorney General of Canada, sought to set aside a NAFTA arbitral award that found Canada liable for breaching the prohibition on performance requirements under Article 1106.

Canada argued that the tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by applying the wrong criteria to determine whether the impugned guidelines fell within Canada's reservation for subordinate measures under Article 1108.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, holding that the tribunal's interpretation of the NAFTA reservation provisions was a question of merits, not a true question of jurisdiction under Article 34(2)(a)(iii) of the Commercial Arbitration Code.