The Winnipeg Free Press (the “Free Press”) successfully challenged the decision of an arbitrator denying public access to the hearing of a grievance filed by officers of the Winnipeg police service (“WPS”). The court found that there was no evidentiary foundation for the arbitrator’s conclusion that “informant evidence” would form an integral part of the hearing and, therefore, the arbitrator had exceeded his jurisdiction by ordering that the hearing be held in camera.

23. November 2004 0
Administrative law – Police – Labour law – Arbitration – Hearings – Conduct of hearings – In camera hearings – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Procedural requirements and fairness – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Arbitration Board – Jurisdiction – Public interest Winnipeg Free Press v. Winnipeg (City), [2004] M.J. ...

The British Columbia Court of Appeal allowed the appeal of an employer (“BC Hydro”) and reinstated the decision of the Human Rights Commission (“HRC”) dismissing, at a preliminary stage, the complaint of an employee (“Lee”). The court held that the reviewing judge erred in failing to give due deference to the HRC by substituting her view of the evidence for the view of the HRC.

23. November 2004 0
Administrative law – Employment law – Appointment – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Race – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Commission – Evidenciary issues – Judicial review – Evidence Lee v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [2004] B.C.J. No. 1851, British Columbia Court of Appeal, September 10, 2004, Finch C.J.B.C., Prowse and Donald JJ.A. Lee is ...

The court set aside a decision of the Respondent to cancel a “final” certificate of inspection on the Applicant’s shipment of wheat after it had been shipped and sold on the basis of the inspection certificate. The Respondent had the regulatory power, which it had not exercised, to do what it had done, but the court could not give administrative practice the force of law by implying a power which the Respondent had failed to exercise by regulation.

23. November 2004 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Canadian Grain Commission – Certificate of inspection – Powers to cancel – Regulatory powers of tribunals – Functus officio – Limitations – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Jurisdiction – Standard of review – Correctness Saskatchewan Wheat Pool v. Canada (Canadian Grain Commission), [2004] F.C.J. No. 1568, Federal ...

The court declined to exercise its habeas corpus jurisdiction upon an application by an inmate in administrative segregation on the grounds that there were other alternative means by which the Applicant may have contested his detention

23. November 2004 0
Administrative law – Prisons – Discipline of inmates – Remedies – Habeas corpus – Alternative remedies Condo v. Bath Institution, [2004] O.J. No. 3760, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, September 14, 2004, Polowin J. The Applicant was serving a five-year prison sentence in a medium security institution. He had been placed in administrative segregation, pursuant to ...

The court held that the application judge had erred by applying a standard of correctness on review of an Acting Park Superintendent’s interpretation of a park management plan and by finding that the Applicant (Respondent on appeal) was denied procedural fairness in relation to its request for use of a private road located in a provincial park. At its highest, the applicable standard for review was reasonableness, and the Superintendent’s interpretation was not unreasonable.

23. November 2004 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Park Superintendent – Road access – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Procedural requirements and fairness 2016596 Ontario Inc. v. Ontario (Minister of Natural Resources), [2004] O.J. No. 3922, Ontario Court of Appeal, September 28, 2004, Simmons and Armstrong JJ.A. and Lane J. (ad ...

The Appellant did not demonstrate that the Respondent Board’s decisions regarding applicable management fees were unreasonable and therefore the appeals were dismissed

26. October 2004 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Energy and Utilities Board – Management fees – Judicial review – Jurisdiction – Standard of review – Patent unreasonableness – Reasonableness simpliciter Atco Electric Ltd. v. Alberta (Energy and Utilities Board), [2004] A.J. No. 906, Alberta Court of Appeal, August 16, 2004, Côté, Wittmann and Costigan JJ.A. The ...

The Applicant Association sought judicial review of the Province’s decision to substitute its own compensation package for provincial judges for that recommended by the 2003 Judicial Compensation Commission. The court held that while the Province’s action met the “rationality” test, the Province had not demonstrated that exceptional circumstances existed such that it could reject the Commission’s recommendations. The court therefore allowed the judicial review to the extent of providing the Province with 90 days to reconsider the Commission’s recommendations and to justify its rejection on the ground of exceptional circumstances.

26. October 2004 0
Administrative law – Remuneration of judges – Judicial Remuneration Commission – Recommendations – Government rejection – Simple rationality standard – Judicial review – Decisions reviewed – Ministerial orders Alberta Provincial Judges’ Assn v. Alberta, [2004] A.J. No. 936, Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, August 20, 2004, MacCullam J. The Alberta Provincial Judges Association sought judicial review ...

The decision of the Respondent, Health Canada, to impose a moratorium on the provision of service provider numbers was a managerial decision which was subject only to a limited degree of fairness. There was no requirement in this case for the Respondent to review the Applicant’s application for a service number on its merits and the application for judicial review was therefore dismissed.

26. October 2004 0
Administrative law – Judicial review – Decisions reviewed – Ministerial orders – Licence to provide health services – Procedural requirements and fairness 1018025 Alberta Ltd. v. Canada (Minister of Health), [2004] F.C.J. No. 1333, Federal Court, August 11, 2004, Gauthier J. The Applicant had been denied a service provider number which would have allowed it ...

A decision of the appeal tribunal, constituted under the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Act, to disclose the entire file of the worker to her employer was quashed as the tribunal erred in law in its consideration of the notion of “relevance” resulting in an order which was unreasonable

26. October 2004 0
Administrative law – Judicial review – Decisions reviewed – Workers Compensation Boards – Disclosure – Relevance of information disclosed – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter O’Donnell (Re), [2004] Y.J. No. 76, Yukon Territory Supreme Court, July 19, 2004, Veale J. An appeal tribunal appointed under the Yukon Worker’s Compensation Act, R.S.Y. 2002, c.231, ordered, on ...

The decision of an arbitrator appointed under the British Columbia Strata Property Act with respect to issues of liability was not clearly wrong and therefore the Applicant’s petition under the Judicial Review Procedure Act was dismissed. With respect to the arbitrator’s award of costs, the court held that the only costs the arbitrator was entitled to award were for party-and-party costs or special costs pursuant to the British Columbia Rules of Court. The arbitrator therefore erred in basing the award on the actual costs incurred. In addition, the arbitrator was not entitled to award costs in relation to the court applications made subsequent to the commencement of the arbitration and he also erred in law in awarding costs to the strata corporation based on the strata council bylaws. The court set aside the arbitrator’s award of costs and held that they should be assessed on a party-and-party basis.

26. October 2004 0
Administrative law – Judicial review – Decisions reviewed – Arbitration and award – Arbitrators – Right to award costs – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Blackmore v. Strata Plan VR-274, [2004] B.C.J. No. 1719, British Columbia Supreme Court, August 20, 2004, Goepel J. An arbitrator appointed under the British Columbia Strata Property Act, S.B.C. 1998, c. ...