Tort law in Canada

Tort law in Canada concerns the treatment of the law of torts within the Canadian jurisdiction excluding Quebec, which is covered by the law of obligations.

Sources

As with most common-law countries, Canadian tort law is primarily judge-made law, much of which is inherited from English tort law, which is supplemented by mostly provincial regulatory laws such as provincial automotive safety Acts. The core of Canadian tort law has not strayed far from its English origins, however, it is in the evolving areas of law, such as nuisance, defamation, or medical liability, where Canadian jurisprudence has set out on its own.

Intentional tort

Except where excluded by statute, the common law intentional torts are applicable in Canada. This includes:
* assault [See "Bruce v Dyer (1966) 58 DLR (2d) 211]
* battery [See "Bettel v. Yim"]
* trespass
* false imprisonment
* intentional infliction of mental distress [ e.g. see "Clark v. Canada" (1994), 20 C.C.L.T. (2d) 241 (F.C.T.D.) and "Nolan v. Toronto Metro Police" [1996] O.J. No. 1764 (O.C.J.)]

There has been no agreed upon common law action for breach of privacy. [See "Somwar v. McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd." [2006] O.J. No. 64 [http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2006/2006canlii202/2006canlii202.html] ]

There was some debate over whether there was a common law tort of discrimination. This was eventually dismissed by the Supreme Court in "Bhadauria v. Seneca College".

Negligence

References

External links

* [http://www.cle.bc.ca/CLE/Analysis/Collection/01-5123601-anns?practiceAreaMessage=true&practiceArea=Personal%20Injury Analysis of negligence law by Justice Major]
* [http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/TortPersonalInjury/tabid/348/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/72/Tort-Law-in-Canada--An-Introduction.aspx Duhaime: Tort Law in Canada - An Introduction]