Parents of children attending a French Immersion school failed in their application seeking to overturn a decision to close the school, as the court found that the school board did not breach its duty of procedural fairness in deciding to close the school

27. August 2002 0
Administrative law – Schools – Closures – School boards – Jurisdiction – Boards and tribunals – Procedural fairness MacGregor v. Halifax Regional School Board, [2002] N.S.J. No. 334, Nova Scotia Supreme Court, July 17, 2002, Coughlan J. The school board voted to close École Beaufort, a school providing French immersion education. The Applicants, parents of children attending ...

The court applied a purposive approach to statute interpretation. The court held that the Residential Tenancies Board had erred in its interpretation of the Residential Tenancies Act and ordered that a guarantor be added as a Respondent and debtor to the landlord.

23. July 2002 0
Crowell v. Larsen, [2002] N.S.J. No. 269, Nova Scotia Supreme Court, April 5, 2002, Boudreau J. A mother signed as a Co-signor Agreement guaranteeing the performance of the Lease Agreement between her daughter and the landlord. The mother drafted post-dated cheques to pay for the rent for her daughter and provided them to the landlord. ...

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal held that neither the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, nor its Director, had authority, either expressed or implied, to delegate the Nova Scotia Ombudsman the responsibilities imposed on the Commission pursuant to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 214

23. July 2002 0
Dalhousie University v. Aylward, [2002] N.S.J. No. 267, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, May 30, 2002, Glube C.J.N.S., Hallett and Freeman, JJ.A. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission received a letter on August 26, 1999 stating that a professor from Dalhousie University was intending to file a complaint based on racial discrimination, however, but that ...

Oulton succeeded in obtaining an order that the Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia (the “Board”) acted ultra vires its jurisdiction in imposing a new entrant’s fee

23. April 2002 0
Administrative law – Boards and tribunals – Jurisdiction Oulton v. Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia, [2002] N.S.J. No. 127, Nova Scotia Supreme Court, March 18, 2002, Wright J. The Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia is a commodity board constituted under the Nova Scotia Chicken Marketing Plan, the stated purpose of which is to promote, control ...

The applicant objected to appearing at a hearing to determine whether his name should be entered on the Child Abuse Register, arguing he was not a compellable witness and the Ministry had not met its disclosure obligations. His application was dismissed, as section 11 of the Charter did not apply to a witness in civil proceeding. Section 7 applied but was not infringed because it was done in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Stinchcombe disclosure obligations do not apply to the Crown in such proceedings.

26. March 2002 0
Administrative law – Charter of Rights – Hearings – Compellability of witness – Disclosure – Child abuse registers Nova Scotia (Minister of Community Services) v. D.J.M., [2002] N.S.J. No. 119, Nova Scotia Supreme Court (Family Division), March 4, 2002, Hood J. The Ministry of Community Services sought to have the name of D.J.M. placed on ...

A police constable’s application for certiorari of Chair of the Scotia Police Review Board to extend time to complete an investigation was dismissed. Correctness is the standard of review for interpreting the regulation as permitting an extension after the investigation was complete. Patent unreasonableness is the standard respecting his findings and exercise of discretion in granting the extension.

26. March 2002 0
Administrative law – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness test – Patent unreasonableness – Questions of jurisdiction – Extension of time – Police – Disciplinary proceedings – Privative clauses Symington v. Halifax (Regional Municipality) Police Service, [2002] N.S.J. No. 112, Nova Scotia Supreme Court, February 8, 2002, Moir J. Constable Symington was the subject ...