The appellant, a psychologist, successfully appealed a decision of two counts of unprofessional conduct on the basis that the reasons provided in the prior appeal decision were inadequate. Not only were the reasons void of any explanation for the findings of professional conduct, but there was no line of analysis within the reasons that could have reasonably led to the ultimate conclusion.

23. November 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Psychologists – Psychologists – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Judicial review – Investigations – Evidence – Failure to provide reasons Sussman v. College of Alberta Psychologists, [2010] A.J. No. 1157, 2010 ABCA 300, Alberta Court of Appeal, October 13, 2010, J.E.L. ...

The applicant was successful in seeking a judicial review order on the basis that the Canadian Human Rights Commission (“Commission”) did not conduct a sufficient/neutral investigation as it ignored crucial evidence and did not address several critical aspects of the applicant’s claim

23. November 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Commission – Investigations – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Age – Employment law – Appointment – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Bias – Evidence Hughes v. Canada (Attorney General), [2010] F.C.J. No. 1193, 2010 FC 963, Federal Court, September 27, 2010, ...

The Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”) brought a petition against the Workers Compensation Board (“WCB”) and put forward a series of questions respecting the jurisdiction of the Court to exercise its parens patriae jurisdiction in relation to any “excess”, as per s.10(6) of the Workers Compensation Act R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 492 (“WCA”), recovered by the WCB in a subrogated claim relating to an infant. The Court found that the Court’s parens patriae jurisdiction did not apply in this case.

23. November 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Workers Compensation Boards – Benefits – Subrogated actions – Judicial review – Jurisdiction – Compliance with legislation – Jurisdiction of court – Protection matters – Children British Columbia (Public Guardian and Trustee of) v. British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Board), [2010] B.C.J. No. 2058, 2010 BCSC 1486, British ...

Where a body of evidence suggests deficiencies beyond a petitioner’s proposal in a procurement process for contracts, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“Tribunal”) ought to have considered whether the evaluators’ procedures, in the procurement process, might have affected the integrity and efficiency of the procurement system more broadly than just the petitioner’s proposal. Additionally, the Tribunal ought to have considered the range of remedies, other than the remedy of compensation, sought by the petitioner.

28. September 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – International Trade Tribunal – Government contracts – Bidding and tendering – Procurements – Approval process – Remedies – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Almon Equipment Ltd. v. Canada (Attorney General), [2010] F.C.J. No. 948, 2010 FCA 193, Federal Court of Appeal, July 20, ...

The decision of the Law Society of British Columbia’s Discipline Committee not to hold a discipline hearing, is not subject to judicial review

28. September 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Law Societies – Barristers and solicitors – Disciplinary proceedings – Powers of Disciplinary Committee – Public interest – Judicial review – application – Availability – No reasonable cause of action – Remedies – Interlocutory injunctions – Availability – Self-governing professions Taylor v. Law Society of British Columbia, ...

The proper approach to statutory interpretation is that the words of an Act are to be read in their entire context and in their ordinary sense harmoniously with the scheme of the Act, the object of the Act, and the intention of Parliament. The decision that the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (the “Commission”) made in this case was unreasonable on the basis that Commission, through the decision of the Internal Review Specialist, sought to discover the intention of the Commission, as opposed to the Legislature.

28. September 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Workers Compensation Boards – Workers Compensation – Benefits – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Statutory interpretation – Legislation – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Warford v. Weir’s Construction Ltd., [2010] N.J. No. 249, 2010 NLTD(G) 130, Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court, August 9, 2010, ...

The obligation to provide notice to a person prior to the release of a commission report arises in respect of reports in which findings of fault or misconduct are made against an individual or corporation. Since the commission’s report in this case did not constitute a finding of fault or misconduct, the Court found no merit in the petitioner’s argument that the petitioner was deprived of procedural fairness because it was not given advance notice of the report in issue or an opportunity to respond to the findings of the report before it’s release.

28. September 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Commision of Inquiry – Commissioner – Notice requirements – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Jurisdiction – Evidence Taser International, Inc. v. British Columbia (Commissioner), [2010] B.C.J. No. 1578, 2010 BCSC 1120, British Columbia Supreme Court, August 10, 2010, R.J. Sewell J. Mr. Dziekanski was ...

It would take clear words from the legislature to deprive an investigator, in regard to a professional self-regulating body, of the powers necessary to carry out an investigation. In this case, the enabling statute stated that a licensee must “provide information that relates to the matters under investigation” and the court held that the plain meaning of these statutory words in their entire context and the purpose of the enabling act included that information may be collected orally.

27. July 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Law Societies – Investigations – Self-governing professions – Oral interview – Barristers and solicitors – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Wise v. Law Society of Upper Canada, [2010] O.J. No. ...

An administrative tribunal may consider a party’s history of non-compliance of zoning bylaws when assessing an individual’s application to rezone. If it does so, however, the tribunal must consider it in its full context. In this case, the court held that the Council of the City of North Vancouver (the “Council”) ought to have also considered the City’s tacit endorsement of the petitioner’s ongoing non-compliance because failure to do so led the Council to make an erroneous assumption about the nature and extent of what was described as the “bad behaviour” of the petitioners and whether that behaviour necessitated repudiation to “provide for good government of the community”.

27. July 2010 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Municipal councils – Municipalities – Planning and zoning – Judicial review – Evidence – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Correctness Pucci v. North Vancouver (City), [2010] B.C.J. No. 1001, 2010 BCSC 743, British Columbia Supreme Court, May 26, 2010, A.F. Cullen J. The petitioners ...