The appeal of a worker (“Gauthier”) of the decision of the Appeals Tribunal of the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, wherein they held that the average earnings he lost through a work-related injury should be calculated considering the period during which he was not receiving any employment income, was dismissed.

24. June 2003 0
Administrative law – Workers compensation – Statutory provisions – Average earnings – Method of calculation – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness Gauthier v. New Brunswick (Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission), [2003] N.B.J. No. 139, New Brunswick Court of Appeal, April 10, 2003, Drapeau C.J.N.B., Deschênes and Robertson JJ.A. The New Brunswick Court ...

This appeal was one of a set of representative appeals challenging the constitutionality of Alberta’s Administrative Licence Suspension Program under the Traffic Safety Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. T-6.4. The appellants argued that driving a vehicle should constitute a liberty interest falling within the scope of the “life, liberty or security of the person” phrase used in section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, and in so doing they reviewed the law of reconsideration.

24. June 2003 0
Administrative law – Motor vehicles – Suspension of driver’s licence – Charter of Rights – Life liberty or security of the person – Law of reconsideration Thomson v. Alberta (Transportation and Safety Board), [2003] A.J. No. 420, Alberta Court of Appeal, April 11, 2003, Fraser C.J.A., Picard and Paperny JJ.A. As a general proposition, leave to reconsider ...

An appeal by the litigation guardian of a student (“Zachary”) from the Order of a trial judge dismissing an application for judicial review of the School Board’s decision to transfer Zachary to a different school for safety reasons while an appeal from the decision to change his placement under provisions relating to exceptional pupils was still outstanding. The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal as moot.

24. June 2003 0
Administrative law – School boards – Transfer of students – Safety of students – Judicial review application – Mootness Bonnah (Litigation guardian of) v. Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, [2003] O.J. No. 1156, Ontario Court of Appeal, April 8, 2003, Doherty, Austin and Charron JJ.A. The court stated that it would not normally hear moot appeals, but ...

A prison inmate (“Farrows-Shelley”), sued Correctional Services Canada (“CSC”) in negligence for allegedly allowing him to be double bunked with an individual who, Farrows-Shelley suspected, was known to have proclivities to violence and to be infected with hepatitis C and HIV. The Federal Court of Canada dismissed the action, holding that there was no evidence to establish a violent tendency on the part of Leonard Welch, and that there was no evidence that he was indeed infected with hepatitis C and HIV. The court refused to accept the argument of the Plaintiff that this should be a test case to expand the law, in recognising a duty to warn as distinct from a duty to protect.

24. June 2003 0
Administrative law – Prisons – Dangerous prisoners – Duty to protect – Duty to warn Farrows-Shelley v. Canada, [2003] F.C.J. No. 574, Federal Court of Canada – Trial Division, April 8, 2003, Aronovitch, Prothonotary The court quoted the decision of Jane Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto (Municipality) Commissioners of Police, [1998] O.J. No. 2681, wherein the ...

A dentist (“Violette”), applied for judicial review of the decision of the New Brunswick Dental Society, in which the Society ordered that Violette be prohibited from treating patients with TMJ disorder and from practising orthodontics. The New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench dismissed the application, holding that the Court should not review the decision of the Discipline Committee when the Applicant had available other avenues of review which he had not pursued.

27. May 2003 0
Administrative law – Dentists – Disciplinary proceedings – Governance – Judicial review – Self-governing professions Violette v. New Brunswick Dental Society, [2003] N.B.J. No. 129, New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench, March 26, 2003, Garnett J. Violette argued that the Board did not have legal training, and so he should not have to pursue his option ...

An appeal by a psychiatric patient (“Sousa”) from the decision of the Consent and Capacity Board, in which they found her incapable in respect of her required treatment for various mental and physical disorders, was dismissed on the basis that the Board’s decision was substantiated by the facts, and no error of fact or law was discerned.

27. May 2003 0
Administrative law – Mental health – Substitute decision maker – Consent to treatment – Consent and Capacity Board – Adult in need of protection Sousa v. Klukach, [2003] O.J. No. 779, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, February 27, 2003, Greer J. Sousa was an involuntary resident of the Clarke Site of the Centre for Addiction and ...

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench heard two appeals under section 41 of the Chiropractic Act, S.S. 1994, c.C-10 from a decision of the Discipline Committee finding the appellant chiropractors guilty of professional misconduct for following a pattern of practice of ordering the preparation of plain film radiographs by the use of X-rays when it was not clinically necessary or appropriate to do so. One of the appellants was also found guilty of following a pattern of practice of ordering the preparation of plain film radiographs on an expectation of financial reward to accrue to him as a result of his ownership in an X-ray medical imaging business. The court ultimately quashed both findings of guilt based on this “pattern of practice”.

27. May 2003 0
Administrative law – Chiropractors – Disciplinary proceedings – Billing matters – Pattern of practice – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Judicial review – Administrative decisions – Standard of review of appellate court Thompson v. Chiropractors’ Assn. of Saskatchewan, [2003] S.J. No. 186, Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, March 21, 2003, Rothery J. The complaints arose ...

A mutual fund salesperson and his company (“Gill”) appealed the decision of the British Columbia Securities Commission’s finding that Gill had contravened certain provisions of the Securities Act. The main issue before the British Columbia Court of Appeal was whether it was reasonable for the Commission to have found that the receipts, financial summaries and loan agreements issued by Gill were securities within the meaning of the term “evidence of indebtedness” contained in section 1 of the Securities Act. The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the Commission’s findings were reasonable, and in accord with the purpose of the Securities Act.

27. May 2003 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Securities Commission – Evidence – Jurisdiction British Columbia (Securities Commission) v. Gill, [2003] B.C.J. No. 587, British Columbia Court of Appeal, March 19, 2003, Rowles, Ryan and Thackray JJ.A. Gill argued that the Commission, in holding that the receipts, financial summaries and loan agreements were securities, had ...

The Federal Court Trial Division struck Treaty Seven First Nations’ application for judicial review of the introduction to Parliament of Bill C-7, First Nations Governance Act. Treaty Seven alleged that the Bill was introduced to Parliament without full and meaningful consultation with the First Nation members of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and the Confederacy of Treaty Seven First Nations and, as such, sought orders in nature of certiorari and mandamus.

27. May 2003 0
Administrative law – Aboriginal issues – Legislation – Government’s duty to consult – Procedural requirements – Judicial review application – No reasonable cause of action Treaty Seven First Nations v. Canada (Attorney General), [2003] F.C.J. No. 464, Federal Court of Canada – Trial Division, March 20, 2003, Gibson J. The Attorney-General of Canada brought an application ...