An inmate at Springhill Penitentiary, with a 35-year history of smoking marijuana prior to his incarceration (“Patriquen”), brought a motion seeking an interlocutory injunction requiring Health Canada to provide him with marijuana in accordance with his recently granted exemption from the provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, an exemption which allowed him to use cannabis to treat medical conditions. The Federal Court held that Patriquen failed to provide evidence illustrating that the injunction should be granted.

28. October 2003 0
Administrative law – Prisons – Use of narcotics – Medicinal use of marijuana – Judicial review – Evidence – Remedies – Injunctions – Test Patriquen v. Canada (Correctional Service), [2003] F.C.J. No. 1186, Federal Court, July 29, 2003, Blais J. Patriquen was incarcerated in September of 2002 after being charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose ...

An automotive sales and service business (“White Bear”) went into receivership and several of the company’s terminated employees filed complaints with the Labour Services offices of the Government of the Northwest Territories. The employees claimed wages owed and related benefits. An officer of the Labour Standards Board (the “Board”) examined their claims and issued certificates determining the amounts owing and declared that the employees were entitled to wage claims from the officers and directors of White Bear, pursuant to section 62 of the Labour Standards Act. The directors of White Bear appealed the ruling. The Board confirmed the certificates of the officer. The directors then unsuccessfully appealed those confirmations to the Northwest Territories Supreme Court.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Labour Relations Board – Employment standards – Termination of employment – Termination package – Judicial review – Administrative decisions – Failure to provide reasons – Standard of review – Patent unreasonableness Buist v. Northwest Territories (Labour Standards Board), [2003] N.W.T.J. No. 30, Northwest Territories Supreme Court, May 30, 2003, O’Connor J. The Appellants ...

Devlin successfully appealed the decision of the Licence Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) which upheld a decision of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (the “Registrar”) suspending Devlin’s driver’s licence pursuant to section 47(1) of the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8 for medical reasons.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Motor vehicles – Suspension of driver’s licence – Medical condition – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Medical Advisory Committee – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness Devlin v. Ontario (Registrar of Motor Vehicles), [2003] O.J. No. 2012, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, May 26, 2003, Pitt J. Devlin had experienced a single ...

A physician (“Dr. Cimolai”) successfully appealed the decision of a chambers judge dismissing his application for a judicial review of a decision of the Board of Directors of Children’s and Women’s Health Centre which had terminated his hospital privileges on the basis of the finding of harassment. The chambers judge had ruled that the doctor had available to him an “adequate alternative remedy” in the form of an appeal to the Hospital Appeal Board, and that for this reason he was not entitled to judicial review. The Court of Appeal disagreed with the findings of the chambers judge.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Physicians and surgeons – Hospital privileges – Judicial review – Procedural fairness – Public body – Definition – Remedies – Certiorari Cimolai v. Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia, [2003] B.C.J. No. 1313, British Columbia Court of Appeal, June 6, 2003, Southin, Newbury and Hall JJ.A. The Court of Appeal considered the question ...

Owen was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for the offence of second degree murder committed in 1978 while he was in a psychotic state induced by drug abuse. He was then detained in various mental health institutions and was gradually released into the community. However, he began to commit violent offences upon release. In 2000, the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”), concluded that Owen continued to constitute a significant danger to the safety of the public and ordered his continued detention at the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital. At the Court of Appeal, the Crown wished to tender fresh Affidavit evidence alleging that, since the date of the Board hearing, Owen had punched another patient, threatened to kill another patient, and was found in the possession of prohibited drugs. The Court of Appeal declined to admit this fresh evidence, and proceeded to review the Board’s Order based on evidence available at the original hearing. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and set aside the Board’s Order as unreasonable and made a direction that Owen be absolutely discharged. The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and reinstated the decision of the Board.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Review Board – Adult in need of protection – Detention – Danger to public – Fresh evidence – Admissibility – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter R. v. Owen, [2002] S.C.J. No. 31, Supreme Court of Canada, June 6, 2003, McLachlin C.J. and Gonthier, Iacobucci, Major, ...

The Respondent (“Starson”) was admitted to hospital after being found not criminally responsible for making death threats, whereupon the Ontario Review Board ordered his detention for 12 months. At that time, Starson refused medical treatment proposed by his psychiatrist for his bipolar disorder. The Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario (the “Board”) held that Starson lacked the capacity to refuse treatment. The Ontario Superior Court overturned the finding of incapacity and the Court of Appeal upheld this finding. The majority of the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board misapplied the statutory test for capacity and improperly allowed its own conception of Starson’s best interests to influence its finding. The Board’s finding of incapacity could not be upheld.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Consent and Capacity Board – Adult in need of protection – Mental health – Substitute decision maker – Right to refuse medical treatment – Capacity – Test – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness Starson v. Swayze, [2003] S.C.J. No. 33, Supreme Court of Canada, June ...

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (the “College”) appealed the decision of the Divisional Court, quashing a newly Amended Notice of Hearing on the basis that the Registrar for the College had proffered the Amended Notice of Hearing in the middle of a disciplinary hearing in the absence of statutory authority to do so. The appeal was dismissed and the decision of the Divisional Court upheld. The issue raised on appeal was whether the Registrar of the College had the jurisdiction to refer new allegations of professional misconduct and incompetence of a member of the College to the Discipline Committee after a discipline hearing had already commenced against that member.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Physicians and surgeons – Disciplinary proceedings – Fairness – Statutory provisions – Judicial review – Procedural requirements – Amendment of notice of hearing – Jurisdiction Henderson v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, [2003] O.J. No. 2213, Ontario Court of Appeal, June 5, 2003, Weiler, Rosenberg and Armstrong, JJ.A. Allegations of professional ...

An employee (“Baxandall”) of R.J.V. Gas Field Services Ltd., resigned his employment and went into the same business as his former employer, the manufacturer of polyurethane panels. R.J.V. moved for an interlocutory injunction to prevent Baxandall from soliciting or selling to the customers of R.J.V., and the application was granted by the chambers judge. At a later hearing, the chambers judge modified the injunction, deciding to allow Baxandall to sell to the customers of R.J.V. but continuing to block him from canvassing or soliciting those customers, pending the trial of the action. Baxandall and his new company successfully appealed the original Order with the Court of Appeal ordering that the injunction be vacated.

26. August 2003 0
Administrative law – Employment law – Post employment obligations – Restraint of trade – Remedies – Injunctions – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness R.J.V. Gas Field Services Ltd. v. Baxandall, [2003] A.J. No. 731, Alberta Court of Appeal, June 5, 2003, Russell and Wittmann J.J.A. and Smith J. (ad hoc) In granting the original ...

A former employee of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (“Yuan”) petitioned pursuant to the Judicial Review Procedure Act for declarations concerning the dismissal of his complaint pursuant to the Human Rights Code. Yuan also sought an Order remitting the issue of his complaint back to the Human Rights Commission for consideration. The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed his Petition.

24. June 2003 0
Administrative law – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Duty to accommodate – Procedural fairness – Judicial review application – Investigative bodies – Fairness Yuan v. British Columbia (Human Rights Commission), [2003] B.C.J. No. 687, British Columbia Supreme Court, March 26, 2003, Melvin J. Yuan contended that the Commission, which had conducted an investigation and determined that ...