4. How Rigid is Stare Decisis?

The doctrine of precedent means that "like cases must be decided alike," then the Supreme Court of Canada should also be expected to follow its own previous decisions, where the facts and the legal issues are generally the same. However, we have seen in recent cases like BedfordandCarterthat the Supreme Court of Canada does appear to change its mind, especially over long periods of time.

In 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women were not "persons" according to the wording of the constitution, and could not be appointed to the Senate. In 1929, the Privy Council (which used to be a higher court of appeal, but no longer plays this role) overturned this decision, finding that the original meaning of the constitution should grow and be interpreted in light of changing social circumstances. The first female Senator was subsequently sworn in on 1930. (Note that many Black, Indigenous, and other racialized women and men did not get the right to vote or be appointed to the Senate for many years later).

Q1. Why is the notion of stability instare decisisusually a good thing for businesses?

Q2. How does this affect business operations or the creation of contracts in society?

Q3. When should we make exceptions to this notion of promoting stability?