The application by Taticek for judicial review of an investigator’s decision dismissing his complaint was allowed where the Court found that the investigator failed to forward a draft report or documentation, as promised, and merely issued her final report breaching a duty of procedural fairness owed to Taticek

26. May 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Government employees – Employment law – Competition for employment – Investigations – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Evidence – Disclosure – draft report Taticek v. Canada (Attorney General), [2009] F.C.J. No. 474, Federal Court, April 9, 2009, Phelan J. Taticek, a federal public servant, ...

The application by an unsuccessful bidder on a government contract (“Bergevin”) for judicial review of a decision by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal was allowed where the Court found that the Tribunal erred in its interpretation of a contract awarded to the Bergevin’s competitor as the contract disqualified those involved in the planning process from bidding on the consulting contract

28. April 2009 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – International Trade Tribunal – Government contracts – Procurement process – Approval process – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Remedies Bergevin v. Canada (Canadian International Development Agency), [2009] F.C.J. No. 30, Federal Court of Appeal, January 23, 2009, Letourneau, Nadon and Pelletier JJ.A. CIDA was ...

Federal Court decided that it did not have the jurisdiction to review the correctness of a decision made by the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) to collect a Liquor Control Board of Ontario (“LCBO”) mark-up on bottles of wine purchased in the United States, on the basis that such review would require the Court to interpret the provisions of provincial law and the relevant contractual instruments, a task which fell outside the jurisdictional confines of s. 18 of the Federal Courts Act

23. December 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Border Service Agency – Jurisdiction of court – Judicial review – Parties – Compliance with legislation – Constitutional issues – Federal and provincial legislation Anisman v. Canada (Border Services Agency), [2008] F.C.J. No. 1660, Federal Court, November 21, 2008, Barnes J. Mr. Anisman (the “Applicant”), brought a ...

The Federal Court found a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of a commissioner of inquiry on the basis of the commissioner’s repeated inappropriate statements to the media. The media is not an appropriate forum in which a decision-maker should become engaged while presiding over a commission of inquiry, a trial, or any other type of hearing or proceeding. The only appropriate forum in which a decision-maker is to become engaged is within the hearing room of the very proceeding over which he or she is presiding.

26. August 2008 0
Administrative law – Investigative bodies – Commission of Inquiry – Commissioner – Reasonable apprehension of bias – Test – Evidence – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness Chretien v. Canada (Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, Gomery Commission), [2008] F.C.J. No. 973, 2008 FC 802, Federal Court, June 26, 2008, ...

The appeal by Canadian National Railway (CNR) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) from the Canadian Transportation Agency’s (the “Agency”) dismissal of their preliminary objection to the hearing and disposition of an application filed by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS) was allowed, the Agency’s decision was set aside and the matter remitted back to the Agency with instruction that it decline to deal with SOLRS’ application for want of jurisdiction. The Agency acted beyond its jurisdiction when it disposed of SOLRS’ application, despite the fact that it was filed after the six month limitation period had expired.

22. July 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Transportation Agency – Limitations – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Jurisdiction of tribunal – Standard of review – Correctness Canadian National Railway Co. v. Canada (Canadian Transport Agency), [2008] F.C.J. No. 862, Federal Court of Appeal, May 29, 2008, Desjardins, Nöel and Blais JJ.A. The ...

An application for judicial review seeking a declaration that subsection 41(b.1) of the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations, SOR/2001-227 (“MMAR”) is invalid, and that the matter be referred back to the Minister of Health for reconsideration and that the Court retain supervisory jurisdiction over Health Canada’s implementation of a revised process for allowing a single designated producer of medical marijuana to produce for more than one medical user. The Court held that subsection 41(b.1) was a restriction on the Applicants’ Section 7 liberty and security rights in the Charter, that could not be saved by section 1. The matter was referred back to the Minister of Health for reconsideration consistent with the Court’s reasons, but the Court declined to retain supervisory jurisdiction.

25. March 2008 0
Administrative law – Medicinal use of marijuana – Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Life liberty or security of the person – Validity of legislation – Judicial review application – Standard of review – Correctness – Compliance with legislation – Legislation – Ultra vires Sfetkopoulos v. Canada (Attorney General), [2008] F.C.J. No. 6, Federal Court ...

The Federal Court allowed an application for judicial review of a decision of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”), finding that the Commission’s investigation of the applicant’s complaint was less than thorough. There was no evidence that the Commission took into account the issue of racial profiling in its investigation of the Applicant’s complaint that, as a bank customer, he was discriminated against by the Respondent bank because of race and colour.

22. January 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Commission – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Race – Investigations – Judicial review – Evidence – Procedural requirements and fairness – Compliance with legislation Powell v. TD Canada Trust, [2007] F.C.J. No. 1579, Federal Court, November 23, 2007, Gibson, J. The Applicant is a ...

The motion by the Chief of Defence Staff, Minister of National Defence and the Attorney General of Canada to strike the Applicants’ Notice of Application was dismissed where the Court held that the application for judicial review was not bereft of any chance of success

26. December 2007 0
Administrative law – National defence – Transfer of Afghan detainees – Torture – Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Prisons – Protection of inmates – Judicial review – Public interest – Standing – Evidence Amnesty International Canada v. Canada (Canadian Forces), [2007] F.C.J. No. 1460, Federal Court, November 5, 2007, Mactavish J. Amnesty International and ...

An employee of the Government of Canada (“Johnson”) succeeded in setting aside the settlement of his Human Rights complaint that had been approved by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) after a conciliation session where a letter of understanding had been drafted containing a number of agreements reached by the parties

27. November 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Commission – Employment law – Appointment – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Race – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Johnson v. Canada (Attorney General), [2007] F.C.J. No 1323, Federal Court, October 4, 2007, O’Keefe J. In April 2003, Johnson filed ...

An employee of the federal public service (“Comstock”) was unsuccessful in her application for a judicial review of two decisions of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) in which the Commission had rejected her complaint regarding discrimination based on religion on the grounds that the complaint was beyond the jurisdiction of the Commission because she had failed to link a prohibited ground of discrimination to the requirement that she pay dues to her union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (“PSAC”)

26. June 2007 0
Administrative law – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Religion – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Commission – Jurisdiction to hear a complaint – Labour law – Collective agreements – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Correctness – Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Freedom of expression Comstock ...