The Court of Appeal set aside a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commission, which had denied the appellant pension benefits, following her estranged husband’s death in a work-related accident, on the basis that the appellant and her child were not “dependants”. The Court of Appeal found that the Commission had failed to apply the correct test with respect to whether the appellant and her child were “dependents”.

27. October 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Workers Compensation Boards – Workers Compensation – Benefits – Dependant – definition – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter – Interpretation of legislation – Evidence – Test Elgie v. Alberta (Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission), [2009] A.J. No. 899, Alberta Court of Appeal, ...

An employer applied for judicial review of a decision of the Employment Standards Tribunal. The Tribunal had purported to cure a breach of natural justice in a reconsideration decision, rather than return the matter to be heard anew. The Court dismissed the application, finding that the Reconsideration Panel had acted fairly in all the circumstances, and the process and hearing afforded to the employer accorded with the rules of natural justice and procedural fairness.

25. August 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Employment Standards Tribunal – Employment law – Termination of employment – Working conditions – Hearings – Conduct of hearings – Disclosure – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Procedural requirements and fairness – Natural justice – Standard of review – Patent unreasonableness Taiga Works Wilderness Equipment ...

Three physicians appealed the dismissal of their applications for judicial review of decisions of the Respondent College, which had requested that the physicians submit to observation of their surgical practices. The Court of Appeal upheld the Divisional Court’s finding that observation of a member’s treatment of patients was reasonably within the legislation’s primary purpose to protect the public, where concerns have been raised about the member’s competence.

25. August 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Physicians and Surgeons – Competence – Public interest – Investigations – Powers to investigate – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation Gore v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, [2009] O.J. No. 2833, Ontario Court of Appeal, July 7, 2009, M. Rosenberg, K.N. Feldman ...

Three job applicants applied for judicial review of a decision of the Public Service Staffing Tribunal, which had dismissed complaints of abuse of authority in assessments of merit in an internationally advertised appointment process by Service Canada. The Court allowed the application, finding that the evidence suggested that the Assessment Board abused its authority by basing its assessment on inadequate information and the Tribunal entirely overlooked strong evidence on that point. The Tribunal thereby failed to afford the applicants procedural fairness.

25. August 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Public Service Staffing Tribunal – Employment law – Competition for employment – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Evidence – Standard of review – Correctness – Abuse of public authority Hammond v. Canada (Department of Human Resources and Social Development), [2009] F.C.J. No. 763, Federal ...

The Petitioner applied for judicial review of a decision of the BC Human Rights Tribunal, which had found that the Petitioner had failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination based on the Respondent’s failure to fund prostate cancer screening tests. The Court found that the Tribunal had erred in conflating the question of the Respondent’s bona fide and reasonable justification into its consideration as to whether the Petitioner had established a prima facie case of discrimination and in applying an improper test to that analysis. The Court remitted the matter to the Tribunal for reconsideration.

25. August 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Tribunal – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Gender – Government funding for screening tests – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter – Compliance with legislation Armstrong v. British Columbia (Ministry of Health), [2009] B.C.J. No. 1279, British Columbia Supreme ...

The Court allowed an appeal of a decision of a chambers judge who had struck out the sanctions imposed by the Appellant Institute against the Respondent, an appraiser. The Court found that the chambers judge erred in his finding that the Institute had failed to deal fairly with the Respondent, with respect to its failure to provide the Respondent a hearing at the investigation stage, the participation of the investigator in charge of the file in the disciplinary proceedings, and the fact that the adjudicating Committee received the investigating committee’s report 30 days before it received the Respondent’s brief.

23. June 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Real estate appraisal – Real estate appraisers – Disciplinary proceedings – Competence – Penalties and suspensions – Hearings – Fairness; Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness Egerton v. Appraisal Institute of Canada, [2009] O.J. No. 1880, 2009 ONCA 390, Ontario Court of Appeal, May 11, 2009, ...

The Court dismissed an appeal of a decision of the Respondent College, which had found the Appellant guilty of unprofessional conduct in connection with billing irregularities. The Court held that the College’s findings and penalty were not unreasonable.

23. June 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Optometrists – Optometrists – Disciplinary proceedings – Billing matters – Penalties and suspensions – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Costs Bishop v. Alberta College of Optometrists, [2009] A.J. No. 486, 2009 ABCA 175, Alberta Court of ...

The Court dismissed an application to quash the decision of the Respondent Town, terminating the employment of the Applicant. Due to the section of the Municipalities Act, under which the Applicant held office, her employment was not governed by the law of contract. The Town owed the Applicant a duty of fairness, which they had discharged.

23. June 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Municipalities – Employment law – Termination of employment – Public law vs. Contract law – Public officer – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Procedural requirements and fairness Cronkhite v. Nackawic (Town), [2009] N.B.J. No. 107, 2009 NBQB 110, New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench, April ...

The Court dismissed an appeal from a decision of the Health Disciplines Board, which had overturned a decision of the Acupuncture Committee. The Committee had found the Respondent guilty of professional misconduct and unskilled practice, following a complaint that the Respondent had made false allegations of sexual harassment against a fellow acupuncturist and made false allegations of improprieties in relation to acupuncture examinations against another acupuncturist. The Court upheld the Board’s finding that the Committee had failed to find justification or rationale for its conclusions.

23. June 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Acupuncture Committee – Acupuncturists – Professional misconduct / conduct unbecoming – Public interest – Judicial review – Failure to provide reasons – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Yu v. Wanglin, [2009] A.J. No. 453, 2009 ABCA 166, Alberta Court of Appeal, April ...