Fair is fair: where statutory interpretation is the core issue decided upon following written and oral submissions, it is not procedurally unfair for the decision maker to rely on a particular term contained in the regulations being interpreted about which submissions were not specifically made

21. December 2021 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Business Risk Management Review Committee – Judicial review – Applications – Statutory interpretation – Legislation – Natural resources – Agriculture – Farm operations 2041219 Ontario Ltd. v. Business Risk Management Review Committee, [2021] O.J. No. 5968, 2021 ONSC 6696, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, October 21, 2021, L.G. Favreau, ...

Facts are facts – where an administrative body’s rules create a strict liability offence, the fact of the offence results in liability. There is no liability defence of due diligence available

19. January 2021 0
Ontario Superior Court of Justice upholds horse racing appeal panel decision not to waive a violation of the rules of thoroughbred racing because the applicant had not administered a banned substance to his horse, the detection of which resulted in the rule violation. Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Horse Racing – Judicial review application ...

Costs: clear cases only – an award of costs is in the discretion of the judge or the administrative tribunal that makes the award, and appellate courts will only interfere if there has been an error of principle, or the award of costs is plainly wrong

20. October 2020 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Farm Practices Board – Bias – Costs – Judicial review – Legislative compliance – Standard of review – Correctness Dell v. Zeifman Partners Inc., [2020] O.J. No. 2783, 2020 ONSC 3881, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, June 23, 2020, K.E. Swinton, N.L. Backhouse and F. Kristjanson JJ. Appeal from ...

An application for anonymity may be unsuccessful in light of behaviour inconsistent with a desire for anonymity: both the litigious conduct of a petitioner, and a delay in time in applying for anonymity and sealing of court files after commencing complaints may undermine a petitioner’s assertion of a concern for privacy

19. May 2020 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Human Rights Tribunal – Duty to accommodate – Judicial review – Natural justice – Standard of review – Patent unreasonableness Stein v. British Columbia (Human Rights Tribunal), [2020] B.C.J. No. 65, 2020 BCSC 70, British Columbia Supreme Court, January 20, 2020, S.C. Fitzpatrick J. The petitioner had initiated and ...

Employers only have to try so hard: terminating employment after an employee fails to engage in the accommodation process and fails to respond to related correspondence is not retaliation

19. May 2020 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Human Rights Commission – investigations – Disability – Discrimination – Employment law – Wrongful dismissal – Judicial review – Application – Appeals – Procedural requirements and fairness – Standard of review – Reasonableness Wojtasiewicz v. Alberta (Human Rights Commission), [2020] A.J. No. 81, 2020 ABCA 23, Alberta Court of ...

Exploring the scope of solicitor-client privilege

17. December 2019 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Information and Privacy Commissioner – Freedom of information and protection of privacy – Disclosure of records – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Solicitor-client privilege British Columbia (Minister of Justice) v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner), [2019] B.C.J. No. 1973, 2019 BCSC 1787, British Columbia Supreme ...

Federal Court Of Appeal upholds lower court’s decision that Transport Canada Delegate Authority did not breach duty of procedural fairness in cancelling transportation security clearance on basis of past criminal charges

17. September 2019 0
Self-represented individuals engaged in an administrative process must be given a fair and meaningful opportunity to respond, meaning they must be given all the necessary information to enable a reasonable person to participate in the process. That standard is not subjective. Whether one did not in fact properly use such an opportunity because one failed ...

BC Supreme Court overturns Privacy Commissioner decision that records containing the total legal costs of ongoing litigation were producible on the basis that the presumption of privilege had been rebutted

17. September 2019 0
A litigant’s records with respect to total legal costs amid ongoing litigation are presumptively privileged and not disclosable under section 56 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996. The presumption is rebuttable upon the party requesting the information showing that an assiduous inquirer could not deduce, infer, or otherwise acquire ...

Agricultural Land Commission’s interpretation of legislation was unreasonable

15. January 2019 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Agricultural Land Commission – Municipalities – Planning and zoning – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Reasonableness Guse v. Provincial Agricultural Land Commission, [2018] B.C.J. No. 3624, 2018 BCSC 1983, British Columbia Supreme Court, November 9, 2018, R.J. Sewell J. The Agricultural Land Commission ...