Matthew P Ponsford, LLM, JD, BSc

Interdisciplinary and comparative research aims to establish: (a) if the challenge in differentiating between short-term and chronic psychological pain is legally problematic for the Canadian justice system; (b) if chronic, irremediable depression constitutes severe, intolerable, enduring suffering satisfying the disability requirement permitting euthanasia; (c) if chronic depression meets the grounds for mental disability classification; (d) if the application of “terminality” in Carter v Canada differs from the practical, legal interpretation by Canadian courts (e.g., a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision); and (e) the medical, ethical, moral, and legal implications for physicians, patients, clinicians, and the legal community.

As of 2016, gender identity and expression is a legally protected ground in human rights legislation passed in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island, while gender identity is statutorily protected in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. This study examines the diagnostic categories of gender dysphoria in the DSM-5 and transsexualism in the ICD-10, and the continuing stigmatization associated with labeling gender identities and expressions as pathological. The Ontario Human Rights Code and Health Insurance Act (HIA) are examined. Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) remains the sole option for transgender Ontarians seeking approval for gender-confirming surgery (GCS). The wait time is currently two years. In February 2015, the Health Minister of Ontario promised to amend the HIA to enable other health professionals to approve surgery referrals, yet Ontarians continue experiencing access delays. This paper explores institutionalized discrimination in two interrelated contexts: (1) inadequate rights to legal documentation (e.g. provincial birth certificates and federal passports) for trans persons and (2) insufficient access to GCS referrals and procedures. This paper examines the intersection among psychiatric assessment, the pathologization of trans persons, and the legal regulation of access to care. Statutorily prescribed rights of transgender Ontarians are examined through select jurisprudence, expert commentary, and one case study, helping to elucidate the complex issue of chronic underfunding of healthcare services for the trans community. The paper concludes that government service providers and institutions fail to protect and serve transgender Ontarians.

Lawful access to information is a broad and complex field raising significant civil rights and privacy issues for the Canadian public. The concept refers to intercepting communications and the legal authority to engage in the search and seizure of sensitive information for lawful investigative purposes. Authorities are increasingly accessing information from transmissions data or electronically intercepting telecommunication services by utilizing new Criminal Code powers to demand, order, and compel the preservation of electronic evidence. Legislation has also expanded and streamlined the warrant process enabling authorities to intercept private communications. This analysis focuses on the relationship among lawful access, customer privacy, and the publication of government requests for subscriber information. Bill C-30, introduced in 2012, and later shelved following public outcry, forms the controversial backdrop to the discussion. This legislation would have ‘‘modernized” the Criminal Code by permitting warrantless powers over, namely, the obligatory disclosure of internet subscriber information, including one’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and Internet Protocol (IP) address. The bill was widely condemned, yet unprecedented levels of warrantless requests continue. This paper explores the recent legal, political, privacy, and communications developments surrounding warrantless government requests for basic subscriber information. I assert the current practice remains marred in secrecy and therefore poses a significant threat to Canadian civil liberties and privacy rights.

Much can be learned from a comparative analysis of the different corporate governance practices of Canada and the People’s Republic of China, specifically with respect to the duties of directors in overseeing registered corporations. This paper examines the fiduciary duties of directors expressed in statutory instruments in Canada and China. Analyses herein incorporate statutes and corporate law, secondary literature, newspaper commentary, and select jurisprudence, to help elucidate the similarities and differences between the two countries’ regulatory frameworks, from the perspective of corporate governance and responsible business decision-making.

This paper elucidates several key aspects of laws governing federal by-elections in Canada, both in contrast and similarity to general election laws and policies. Analyses begins with a brief overview of the history and purpose of federal by-elections in Canada, followed by statutory examination of the Canada Elections Act and Parliament of Canada Act (including laws pertaining to resignations and vacancies). Next, the role of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada and the Speaker of the House of Commons is examined, including case studies of Elections Canada and the Electoral Commission of New Zealand. Select jurisprudence is discussed, highlighting two particularly timely cases. Proportional representation (PR), coupled with first-past-the-post (FPP) by-elections are reviewed, including mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation. Two case studies are introduced: a judicial recount in Hochelaga, Québec, and New Zealand’s MMP general election and FPP by-elections systems.

Bitcoin, also known as a decentralized virtual currency (DVC), is regulated differently in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Canada, and the United States, and represents a vastly underdeveloped area of the law. No country has currently backed Bitcoin. Launched in 2009, and founded by Satoshi Nakamoto,  Bitcoin is a “decentralized peer-to-peer virtual currency.” Other virtual currencies include Litecoin, Namecoin, Auroracoin, Peercoin, and Dogecoin – about 500 varieties in total – but research here primarily focuses on Bitcoin. A comparative analysis helps discern how these respective countries classify Bitcoin (e.g., a virtual object, currency, or potential security), and how these jurisdictions regulate, or intend to regulate, DVCs. Bitcoin is identified as a “currency,” throughout the paper, but the classification is heavily contested. Questions for analyses include: are there appropriate existing legal frameworks to regulate Bitcoin? What securities regulation challenges does Bitcoin pose? What are the consumer and investor protection concerns associated with Bitcoin compared to traditional financial exchanges? What are the cross-jurisdictional challenges of virtual currency transactions that operate over the Internet (e.g., money laundering, or fraudulent activities)? Research incorporates securities commission reports, social and political commentary from secondary sources, and relevant jurisprudence and legislation. Findings help situate the current climate of Bitcoin globally, and assess how its regulation differs relative to technological, economic, social, financial, and political forces.

Bitcoin, also known as a decentralized virtual currency (DVC), is regulated differently in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Canada, and the United States, and represents a vastly underdeveloped area of the law. No country has currently backed Bitcoin. Launched in 2009, and founded by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is a “decentralized peer-to-peer virtual currency.” Other virtual currencies include Litecoin, Namecoin, Auroracoin, Peercoin, and Dogecoin – about 500 varieties in total – but research here primarily focuses on Bitcoin. A comparative analysis helps discern how these respective countries classify Bitcoin (e.g., a virtual object, currency, or potential security), and how these jurisdictions regulate, or intend to regulate, DVCs. Bitcoin is identified as a “currency,” throughout the paper, but the classification is heavily contested. Questions for analyses include: are there appropriate existing legal frameworks to regulate Bitcoin? What securities regulation challenges does Bitcoin pose? What are the consumer and investor protection concerns associated with Bitcoin compared to traditional financial exchanges? What are the cross-jurisdictional challenges of virtual currency transactions that operate over the Internet (e.g., money laundering, or fraudulent activities)? Research incorporates securities commission reports, social and political commentary from secondary sources, and relevant jurisprudence and legislation. Findings help situate the current climate of Bitcoin globally, and assess how its regulation differs relative to technological, economic, social, financial, and political forces.

This project examines recent and ongoing misconduct in the financial sector and implications for corporate governance and accountability. The misconduct ranges from abusive mortgage trades and misreporting on derivatives losses to manipulation of commodity markets. Major corporations, such as JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, have paid billions of dollars to regulators in penalties. The research project reviews the events from the perspectives of corporate governance, specifically whether shareholders are penalized for wrongdoing of corporate managers, and how far the regulatory practice of making settlements with the companies promotes accountability and corporate governance. The penalties diminish shareholder wealth and the question is whether shareholders end up as “helpless victims.” The research herein has combined theoretical and empirical methods. The theory part of research includes discussion of various regulatory methods and their efficacy, the justification for the settlements concluded by the corporations with governments, grounds for proposed personal liability against executives, and possible class action lawsuits in the future. The empirical element consists of review of investigative reports, disclosures by the companies, and settlement orders made by regulatory agencies. This helps form an opinion on the culpability of executives and the related issue about whether the costs of misconduct in the form of penalties are passed on to shareholders.

Luxury brands enable consumers to express themselves culturally, socioeconomically, financially, and even ethically. This paper explores the ubiquitous, everyday consumption of counterfeit goods, the various theories related to the issue of curtailing counterfeit consumption, and the corresponding trends in consumer behaviour through the lens of such dynamics as culture, educational attainment, social class, and ethical attitudes. Secondary studies related to consumer intention are utilized to help discern why some consumers behave responsibly, seeking luxury items at often exorbitant cost, while others neglect ethical conduct entirely, seeking counterfeit goods for the sake of retaining or acquiring perceived social status. Analysis herein embeds the intersecting relationship between conspicuous consumption and trademark law (i.e., why people care about brands at all) and the differing social and cultural motives for which consumers value brand prominence, including perceived social/emotional, utilitarian, and economic value. Select Canadian trademark law and jurisprudence is included to reinforce the significance of trademark protection, why the value of brands is important, and how trademark law contributes to sustaining brand value in a marketplace teeming with counterfeit merchandise.

Conflict at the end-of-life, particularly between families and health-care providers, involves many complex factors; differing opinions surrounding a patient’s prognosis, cultural differences, moral values, and religious beliefs, associated costs, internal family dynamics, and of course, legal ramifications. Legislative reform at both the provincial and federal levels with respect to assisted dying has had far-reaching implications for healthcare decision-making for families, healthcare providers, religious groups, and others. These reforms provide the backdrop for this paper, which examines the conflict resolution processes that can provide a solution amidst an often stressful, costly, and time-consuming ordeal. This paper reviews several processes, but focuses on the Ontario Consent and Capacity Board. In addition, this paper discusses the importance of empathy and cultural understanding in the face of cross-cultural conflict in end-of-life decision-making processes.

Natural and anthropogenic elemental contamination is widespread in the environment. This is especially true in China, a country with rapid industrial and economic growth. Some metals can be toxic at very low concentrations, rapidly accumulating within fish tissues and other organisms. As fish are an important part of the Chinese diet, food web transfer and biomagnification trends of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se and Zn are assessed for fish from a reservoir in eastern China. This study site, with 1,078 islands and prized freshwater fish species, contains 13 families and 86 fish species. Commonly-consumed farmed fish from a range of trophic levels were sampled, including Silurus asotus, Aristichthys nobilis, Ictalurus punctatus, Carassius auratus, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Micropterus salmoides and Hypothalmichthys molitrix. Wild piscivorous fish sampled include Siniperca chuatsi, Erythroculter mongolicus, Erythroculter illishaeformis and Channa argus argus. Our questions for this study are: (1) Are metal accumulation trends and concentrations in wild versus farmed fish species different? (2) Do trends in metal concentration between fish markets in a large city and a fishing town differ? Concentrations of Cd, Co and Pb were below reliable ICP-OES detection limits. As, Cu and Zn concentrations were highest in farmed species, whereas Cr, K, Ni, Rb and Se were highest in wild species. δ15N values were used to estimate trophic position. Results obtained suggest significant biomagnification of Se at successive trophic levels and marginally significant biomagnification trends for Rb. All other relationships between elemental concentration and trophic position indicated a lack of biomagnification. Anthropogenic sources from industrial activities surrounding the reservoir may contribute to elevated Cr and Se in fish, while ambient pH and temperature differentials could play a role in the increased bioavailability of Rb in the region.

This article includes personal commentary on the opportunities and challenges pertaining to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (via email interview) after observing several Senate of Canada hearings on digital currencies in Winter 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Presentation Topic: "A comparative analysis of bitcoin and other decentralized virtual currencies: legal regulations in the People's Republic of China, Canada and the United States."

20-minute presentation and 15-minute question panel at the Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montréal, Québec.

Presentation Topic: "Conflict Resolution Processes in End-of-Life Care Disputes between Families and Healthcare Providers in Canada."

20-minute presentation and 20-minute Q&A session at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. Sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Training Program in Health Law, Ethics & Policy, McGill Research Group on Health and Law, and the University of Ottawa Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics.