Jennifer Koshan
@jenniferkoshan.bsky.social
Law Prof @UCalgaryLaw, Research Excellence Chair in Family Violence @UCalgary, Blogger @ABlawg. She/her. Feminist. Equality and Human Rights. All opinions are my own.
Also, “what might happen when a government sees every challenge as a nail, and loves the hammer it holds in its hand.” Actually, loves the sledgehammer (of s 33) is even more apt.
This stood out from David King's excellent op-ed on s33: "the current government is ... dispirited — deeply unhappy with its situation and unable to find any path to joy in serving the people of Alberta." The idea of finding joy in public service...
calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...
calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...
Opinion: Notwithstanding clause never meant to be used to benefit the government
Dave King was was there when clause was born in Alberta cabinet. It was never meant to be used for the benefit of the government itself.
calgaryherald.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Also, “what might happen when a government sees every challenge as a nail, and loves the hammer it holds in its hand.” Actually, loves the sledgehammer (of s 33) is even more apt.
While the motion to expedite the leave application was granted, the UR Pride case will be heard separately from English Montreal School Board v AG Quebec. Seems a little surprising given the similarity of the S 33 issue, but the Bill 21 case must march on I guess
decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...
decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...
November 6, 2025 at 4:05 PM
While the motion to expedite the leave application was granted, the UR Pride case will be heard separately from English Montreal School Board v AG Quebec. Seems a little surprising given the similarity of the S 33 issue, but the Bill 21 case must march on I guess
decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...
decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...
Having fought an ATI request for my research I learned more about this than I ever wanted to know. Research is exempted from disclosure in AB and other provinces based on academic freedom. Federally the ATIA has some protection for research. But that can be overridden by Parliamentary privilege? 🤯
November 3, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Having fought an ATI request for my research I learned more about this than I ever wanted to know. Research is exempted from disclosure in AB and other provinces based on academic freedom. Federally the ATIA has some protection for research. But that can be overridden by Parliamentary privilege? 🤯
Not happy about this at all. But can we please stop calling it child porn? If a short form is needed, how about CSAEM (child sexual abuse + exploitation material)? True, the SCC was dealing with the offence of child pornography before it was amended to CSAEM, but "porn" unnecessarily diminishes it.
Alberta's Smith (and Ontario’s Ford) calls on Ottawa to use notwithstanding clause over child porn ruling
From me today:
www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/...
From me today:
www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/...
Alberta's Smith calls on Ottawa to use notwithstanding clause over child porn ruling
EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on the federal government to invoke the Charter's notwithstanding clause to overturn a new Supreme Court ruling on child pornography.
www.thecanadianpressnews.ca
November 1, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Not happy about this at all. But can we please stop calling it child porn? If a short form is needed, how about CSAEM (child sexual abuse + exploitation material)? True, the SCC was dealing with the offence of child pornography before it was amended to CSAEM, but "porn" unnecessarily diminishes it.
This is a really helpful post that puts the UCP’s use of the NWS clause in context and makes the case for the ongoing justiciability of Bill 2’s constitutionality. Someone on here was looking for a primer on Bill 2 and s 33 the other day and this is it! And one more thing:
ABlawg (Shaun Fluker and students in the Faculty's Public Interest Clinic) also weighing in on Bill 2.
@ablawg.bsky.social
ablawg.ca/2025/10/30/b...
@ablawg.bsky.social
ablawg.ca/2025/10/30/b...
Back to School Notwithstanding the Charter
By: Shaun Fluker and JD students registered in the Public Interest Law Clinic Legislation Commented On: Back to School Act, SA 2025 (full citation unavailable at publication time) PDF Version: Back…
ablawg.ca
October 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
This is a really helpful post that puts the UCP’s use of the NWS clause in context and makes the case for the ongoing justiciability of Bill 2’s constitutionality. Someone on here was looking for a primer on Bill 2 and s 33 the other day and this is it! And one more thing:
Reposted by Jennifer Koshan
ABlawg (Shaun Fluker and students in the Faculty's Public Interest Clinic) also weighing in on Bill 2.
@ablawg.bsky.social
ablawg.ca/2025/10/30/b...
@ablawg.bsky.social
ablawg.ca/2025/10/30/b...
Back to School Notwithstanding the Charter
By: Shaun Fluker and JD students registered in the Public Interest Law Clinic Legislation Commented On: Back to School Act, SA 2025 (full citation unavailable at publication time) PDF Version: Back…
ablawg.ca
October 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
ABlawg (Shaun Fluker and students in the Faculty's Public Interest Clinic) also weighing in on Bill 2.
@ablawg.bsky.social
ablawg.ca/2025/10/30/b...
@ablawg.bsky.social
ablawg.ca/2025/10/30/b...
Reposted by Jennifer Koshan
Does gender matter to the justifying limits on rights?
My new book, published today, uncovers untenable gendered assumptions in justification orthodoxy and calls for methodological innovation so women's equality is not too readily sacrificed to the public good.
More info here: shorturl.at/oViDJ
My new book, published today, uncovers untenable gendered assumptions in justification orthodoxy and calls for methodological innovation so women's equality is not too readily sacrificed to the public good.
More info here: shorturl.at/oViDJ
October 30, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Does gender matter to the justifying limits on rights?
My new book, published today, uncovers untenable gendered assumptions in justification orthodoxy and calls for methodological innovation so women's equality is not too readily sacrificed to the public good.
More info here: shorturl.at/oViDJ
My new book, published today, uncovers untenable gendered assumptions in justification orthodoxy and calls for methodological innovation so women's equality is not too readily sacrificed to the public good.
More info here: shorturl.at/oViDJ
In a decision yesterday, the ABCA stated that "academic freedom exists to protect all scholarship, including that which may be unpopular or politically targeted." So-called 'activism' is still "research" + "teaching" exempted from FOIP applications. See 2025 ABCA 350, canlii.ca/t/kg5f3 at [40-42].
canlii.ca
October 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM
In a decision yesterday, the ABCA stated that "academic freedom exists to protect all scholarship, including that which may be unpopular or politically targeted." So-called 'activism' is still "research" + "teaching" exempted from FOIP applications. See 2025 ABCA 350, canlii.ca/t/kg5f3 at [40-42].
The UCP’s use of the NWS clause to end the teachers strike is sinking in. This is a terrible precedent for *all* groups with protected rights. Why would the government ever not use s 33 now in any case where they can’t make a credible s 1 argument?
"Bill 2 is perfectly legal."
"The kids need to go back to class."
I agree.
That doesn't mean the premier should've done an endrun around the legislature and the courts.
If the back-to-work law was defensible, why didn't she defend it before leaving the country?
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
"The kids need to go back to class."
I agree.
That doesn't mean the premier should've done an endrun around the legislature and the courts.
If the back-to-work law was defensible, why didn't she defend it before leaving the country?
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
Alberta Strong and Free, Notwithstanding
The UCP's Bill 2 skirts the legislature and the courts, leaving it up to the public to push back swiftly
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:52 PM
The UCP’s use of the NWS clause to end the teachers strike is sinking in. This is a terrible precedent for *all* groups with protected rights. Why would the government ever not use s 33 now in any case where they can’t make a credible s 1 argument?
Woke up in Kenya to surprise-watch extra innings in the Blue Jays Dodgers game. Also woke up to see that the UCP did preemptively invoke s 33 to end the teachers strike as feared. Solidarity with late night baseball lovers and workers everywhere.
October 28, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Woke up in Kenya to surprise-watch extra innings in the Blue Jays Dodgers game. Also woke up to see that the UCP did preemptively invoke s 33 to end the teachers strike as feared. Solidarity with late night baseball lovers and workers everywhere.
Freedom = the ability to live without fear. Put that on a license plate.
October 17, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Freedom = the ability to live without fear. Put that on a license plate.
Nice to be in Winnipeg for a National Judicial Institute seminar. One of the best things about staying at the Fort Garry is the close proximity to this old but still oh so relevant mural. That and the ghost stories. And the hotel bar.
October 16, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Nice to be in Winnipeg for a National Judicial Institute seminar. One of the best things about staying at the Fort Garry is the close proximity to this old but still oh so relevant mural. That and the ghost stories. And the hotel bar.
Working with legendary equality rights scholars Bill Black and Lynn Smith on the section 15 chapter of this new edition was a dream! A student edition is also available for a lower cost.
Prof. Errol Mendes has published the 6th edition of “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms / Charte canadienne des droits et libertés”, the definitive guide to Canada’s Charter, now fully updated with new cases and insights.
Read more: bit.ly/3KPta56
Read more: bit.ly/3KPta56
October 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Working with legendary equality rights scholars Bill Black and Lynn Smith on the section 15 chapter of this new edition was a dream! A student edition is also available for a lower cost.
Helpful post on the ABCA’s discussion of the rules governing use of AI in court documents by @roberthamilton.bsky.social. And on the consequences for not following those rules.
New Post: The Alberta Court of Appeal Weighs in on the use of AI in Court Submissions
ablawg.ca/2025/10/15...…ourt-submissions/
ablawg.ca/2025/10/15...…ourt-submissions/
October 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Helpful post on the ABCA’s discussion of the rules governing use of AI in court documents by @roberthamilton.bsky.social. And on the consequences for not following those rules.
Actually if the Panel accepts that the Charter applies to universities, they might also have noted that it guarantees *substantive* equality and protects affirmative action programs in S 15(2).
Alberta's Expert Panel on Post Secondary Institution Funding goes all in on white pride
October 10, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Actually if the Panel accepts that the Charter applies to universities, they might also have noted that it guarantees *substantive* equality and protects affirmative action programs in S 15(2).
Reposted by Jennifer Koshan
Reposted by Jennifer Koshan
Better late than never: our 18 pp (!) analysis of #ableg's so-called Mature Asset Strategy (w/ Shaun Fluker and @drewyewchuk.bsky.social). TLDR: the MAS is a thinly disguised attempt to rewrite the origin story of Alberta's O&G closure liability crisis and to push more gov't support & deregulation.
New Post: The Mature Asset Strategy for Alberta’s Oil and Gas Closure Liability Crisis: Where there is Smoke [and Mirrors], there is Fire.
ablawg.ca/2025/09/30...…rs-there-is-fire/
ablawg.ca/2025/09/30...…rs-there-is-fire/
The Mature Asset Strategy for Alberta’s Oil and Gas Closure Liability Crisis: Where there is Smoke [and Mirrors], there is Fire
By: Martin Olszynski, Drew Yewchuk, and Shaun Fluker Matter Commented On: Alberta’s Mature Asset Strategy: What we Heard and Recommendations Report, April 3, 2025 PDF Version: The Mature Asset Stra…
ablawg.ca
September 30, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Better late than never: our 18 pp (!) analysis of #ableg's so-called Mature Asset Strategy (w/ Shaun Fluker and @drewyewchuk.bsky.social). TLDR: the MAS is a thinly disguised attempt to rewrite the origin story of Alberta's O&G closure liability crisis and to push more gov't support & deregulation.
Solidarity from law profs down highway 2. That this reprehensible and dangerous action by U of A was apparently triggered by conservative media is appalling. The “protection” rationale trotted out by U of A (see also: forceful takedown of campus protests) is baseless and must be challenged.
"Why would it bow to antidemocratic pressures by placing a professor on leave without their request, consent, or involvement? That any university would do this is beyond comprehension and is cause for alarm about the future of academic freedom in Canada."
What Happened to the University’s Commitment to Free Expression? Charley Kirk, uAlberta, and Me | Centre for Free Expression
I was shocked when the University of Alberta administration informed me, one of its law professors, that I was being placed on non-disciplinary leave for my social media comments in the wake of Charli...
cfe.torontomu.ca
September 30, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Solidarity from law profs down highway 2. That this reprehensible and dangerous action by U of A was apparently triggered by conservative media is appalling. The “protection” rationale trotted out by U of A (see also: forceful takedown of campus protests) is baseless and must be challenged.
And not only this. Anyone who saw the Premier try to defend the ban on trans health care the other day heard her say “babies” over and over, as if creating more Albertans should be every youth’s life goal and purpose. The Handmaids Tale was not just a banned book, it’s our reality here now. #abpoli
For anyone not in Alberta or not paying attention, girls playing sports in school now have to prove they were born female to play sports. And can be challenged by anyone at anytime and must prove they are female to keep playing. This doesn’t apply to boys. What a dystopian hellscape
September 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
And not only this. Anyone who saw the Premier try to defend the ban on trans health care the other day heard her say “babies” over and over, as if creating more Albertans should be every youth’s life goal and purpose. The Handmaids Tale was not just a banned book, it’s our reality here now. #abpoli
This is the 4th and final post in our series on the Dickson case; this one examines the dissent on ss 25 and 15 of the Charter. While it appears to flow from concerns about gender equality, @roberthamilton.bsky.social, @jwatsonhamilton.bsky.social and I are critical of the dissent's approach.
New Post: The Dissent in Dickson v Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation: Failing to Accommodate Legal Pluralism
ablawg.ca/2025/09/24...…-legal-pluralism/
ablawg.ca/2025/09/24...…-legal-pluralism/
September 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
This is the 4th and final post in our series on the Dickson case; this one examines the dissent on ss 25 and 15 of the Charter. While it appears to flow from concerns about gender equality, @roberthamilton.bsky.social, @jwatsonhamilton.bsky.social and I are critical of the dissent's approach.
Saw a great film today, Mr Nobody Against Putin. It was hard not to draw parallels between the propaganda the Russian government is imposing on its schools and the Alberta government's intrusion in school curricula & libraries on sexuality, gender & more. Enough!
www.ciffcalgary.ca/films/2025/m...
www.ciffcalgary.ca/films/2025/m...
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN » CIFF
A brave and resilient teacher secretly exposes Putin's aggressive militarization of Russia's primary schools at the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
www.ciffcalgary.ca
September 21, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Saw a great film today, Mr Nobody Against Putin. It was hard not to draw parallels between the propaganda the Russian government is imposing on its schools and the Alberta government's intrusion in school curricula & libraries on sexuality, gender & more. Enough!
www.ciffcalgary.ca/films/2025/m...
www.ciffcalgary.ca/films/2025/m...
The AB gov’t appealed the injunction against trans health care bans, but is now bypassing its opportunity to argue the reasonableness of *all* its anti-trans laws via the notwithstanding clause. This reveals a lack of confidence in its claim that it is “protecting” trans and gender diverse youth.
For the first time in Alberta history, Danielle Smith will use the notwithstanding clause preemptively to shield her bills targeting vulnerable trans children from legal scrutiny.
Her actions are simply cruel and wrong.
Read my full statement below:
Her actions are simply cruel and wrong.
Read my full statement below:
September 20, 2025 at 12:50 AM
The AB gov’t appealed the injunction against trans health care bans, but is now bypassing its opportunity to argue the reasonableness of *all* its anti-trans laws via the notwithstanding clause. This reveals a lack of confidence in its claim that it is “protecting” trans and gender diverse youth.
So much for the UCP’s argument that their anti-trans surveillance law is all about protecting girls in sports. Young women’s participation in sports has dropped off, no surprise. #ableg
Keep refusing to sign the forms. This legislation is not only unnecessary, it is sexist and discriminatory.
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
edmontonjournal.com
September 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
So much for the UCP’s argument that their anti-trans surveillance law is all about protecting girls in sports. Young women’s participation in sports has dropped off, no surprise. #ableg
Reposted by Jennifer Koshan
I think we all know why Alberta and Saskatchewan are arguing against changes to the notwithstanding clause: they want to violate the rights of transgender people.👇🏼
Not surprisingly, AB, SK, and ON side with QB in the Bill 21 case. “Alberta is against “any form of substantive judicial review” of governments’ use of the notwithstanding clause” and argued “that “creative arguments” that call for restrictions “should be rejected.” apple.news/AcH5w2n3YSEO...
Ottawa calls on Supreme Court to clarify the law around use of Charter’s notwithstanding clause — The Globe and Mail
Filing propels Ottawa towards a clash with the provinces, including Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, on core Constitutional questions at the top court
apple.news
September 18, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I think we all know why Alberta and Saskatchewan are arguing against changes to the notwithstanding clause: they want to violate the rights of transgender people.👇🏼
Not surprisingly, AB, SK, and ON side with QB in the Bill 21 case. “Alberta is against “any form of substantive judicial review” of governments’ use of the notwithstanding clause” and argued “that “creative arguments” that call for restrictions “should be rejected.” apple.news/AcH5w2n3YSEO...
Ottawa calls on Supreme Court to clarify the law around use of Charter’s notwithstanding clause — The Globe and Mail
Filing propels Ottawa towards a clash with the provinces, including Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, on core Constitutional questions at the top court
apple.news
September 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Not surprisingly, AB, SK, and ON side with QB in the Bill 21 case. “Alberta is against “any form of substantive judicial review” of governments’ use of the notwithstanding clause” and argued “that “creative arguments” that call for restrictions “should be rejected.” apple.news/AcH5w2n3YSEO...