A look at some other high-profile cases heard by judge in Travis Vader trial
EDMONTON — Lawyers are returning to court today in the case of Travis Vader. Justice Denny Thomas convicted Vader two weeks ago of second-degree murder in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, but his ruling came under criticism almost immediately for using a section of the Criminal Code declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court years ago. An expert in environmental law as a lawyer, Thomas has been at the centre of several high-profile cases since being appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench in 2005.
Here are some of them:
2014 — Thomas handed down a ruling that ordered a freeze on then-premier Alison Redford’s attempts to impose an austere four-year wage deal on the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees while revoking its right to binding arbitration. Thomas excoriated Redford’s Tory government for what he described as deceptive, high-handed, unfair bargaining tactics designed to “emasculate” its largest public-sector union.
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