Lawson Lundell associate, Ricki-Lee Gerbrandt, had an article published in the Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine.

The article, titled "A Bold Change to a Basic Constitutional Test," provided an overview of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act introduced in 2018, which has caused several objections from provinces, and examined its current status before the Supreme Court of Canada.

"To determine whether a government has the constitutional jurisdiction to enact the challenged legislation, the court first assesses the pith and substance of the law (by looking at the purpose and effect of the challenged legislation) to characterize the ‘matter’,” wrote Gerbrandt. “Second, it ‘classifies’ the ‘matter’ under the jurisdiction of either the provincial or federal government. How the matter is characterized drives its classification. In a sense, everything turns on characterization."

Click here to read the full article.