Part 1 | The doctor who risked his life for abortion rights
When Dr. Henry Morgentaler starts offering abortions in 1968, he knows he’s breaking the law. Eventually, police move in, shutting down his Montreal clinic, arresting him, and sending him to jail. But instead of backing down, Morgentaler is emboldened, re-opening his clinic to offer thousands more abortions, and even performing a procedure on live TV, on Mother’s Day. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Julie Ireton explore the multiple court battles Morgentaler fought in Quebec, his time in prison, and why he was willing to go to such great lengths to challenge the province’s abortion laws, over and over again.This episode is part one of two. Find part two here: LINK LINK (will update when live)
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Part 2 | The doctor who risked his life for abortion rights
After three court battles and jail time in Quebec, Dr. Henry Morgentaler sets his sight on offering abortions across Canada. He’s attacked with garden shears, his Toronto clinic is firebombed, and he and his staff are arrested. But with a new Charter of Rights and Freedoms in place, his legal defence finds a new audience —at the Supreme Court of Canada.Host Falen Johnson and journalist Julie Ireton revisit how Morgentaler used the courts to remake Canada’s abortion laws, the fierce debate that followed, and how a new constitution created a climate where abortion was removed from the criminal code. This episode is part two of two. Find part one here.
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The kid who wouldn’t give up his kirpan
Gurbaj Singh Multani is just playing basketball when the ceremonial dagger that symbolizes his Sikh faith falls onto the playground of his Montreal school. The next thing the 11-year-old knows, his principal is giving him an ultimatum: hand over his kirpan, a symbol of his Sikh faith, or leave school. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Sonali Karnick take us through the case of Multani v Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys. It sparks a heated public debate over multiculturalism in post 9/11 Quebec, with grown-ups hurling slurs at the tween, and ends with a landmark ruling for religious freedoms in Canada.
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The Mi’kmaw fisher who waded into a war over treaty rights
Donald Marshall Junior just wants a quiet life: hanging out with his girlfriend and fishing for eels in rural Nova Scotia. And who can blame him? The Mi’gmaw man spent 11 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. So when fisheries officers slap him with a ticket for selling eels without a licence, he’s dragged into a new fight. And this one’s for his people. Host Falen Johnson unpacks R v Marshall: a case about whether a centuries old treaty means First Nations have the right to fish and sell their catch outside the quota system. Can Donald — who has already lost so much to the justice system — shoulder this high-stakes debate? And what happens when non-Indigenous fishers fear for their livelihoods, and a war on the water begins?
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Part 2 | The teen convicted of murder and the mother turned detective
After twenty-two years behind bars, David Milgaard finally gets to speak his truth before the Supreme Court of Canada: he didn’t kill Gail Miller. And the new evidence his mother Joyce has been gathering can be heard.Host Falen Johnson and journalist Laura Lynch bring us the culmination of R v Milgaard — a case Laura covered at the Supreme Court in the 1990s. She recounts the courtroom drama — from the day David went missing, to the moment the real killer took the stand. And we hear the complex aftermath of a case that shook Canadians’ views of their justice system (and inspired the Tragically Hip).This episode is part two of two. Find part one here.
Named one of Apple Podcasts' Best Podcasts of 2025. The stories behind the legal battles that changed Canada — and the unlikely people who made it happen. Some were sh*t distributors, some were convicts, and some were just regular folks dragged into a fight.Each week, host Falen Johnson teams up with a journalist to dig into a case that challenged the status quo, and asks: what kind of person takes on the law? What are the costs? And what would our lives look like if these cases never happened? Because let's be real, just because a case is closed doesn't mean the story is over.
Canada - english