City’s unreasonable decision to void a building permit on the basis that no construction activities had occurred

18. August 2020 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Municipal boards – By-laws – Building permits – Agricultural Land Reserve – Judicial review – Legislative compliance – Evidence, admissibility – Standard of review – Reasonableness Minster Enterprises Ltd. v. Richmond (City), [2020] B.C.J. No. 495, 2020 BCSC 455, British Columbia Supreme Court, March 30, 2020, Crerar J. The ...

Strata Corporations are free to get in their own way when it comes to claiming reimbursement of insurance deductibles from owners

17. December 2019 0
B.C. Supreme Court upholds decision of the Civil Resolution Tribunal that the Bylaws of a Strata Corporation can narrow the Strata’s ability to sue an owner pursuant to section 158(2) of the Strata Property Act. Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Civil Resolution Tribunal – Condominiums – Strata corporations – By-laws – Judicial review – ...

On judicial review, a B.C. Court held that the District’s decision not to grant business licenses for short-term rentals accords with the relevant business license and zoning bylaws.

19. February 2019 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Municipal councils – Municipalities – By-laws – Planning and zoning – Permits and licences – Judicial review — Compliance with legislation Mailloux v. Tofino (District), [2018] BCJ No 6987, 2018 BCSC 2298, British Columbia Supreme Court, December 24, 2018, LA Loo J The petitioners were townhouse owners in Tofino ...

Municipal Council’s consultative process was held to be procedurally fair

15. January 2019 0
Administrative law – Decisions reviewed – Municipal boards – By-laws – Notice and consultation – Judicial review – Bias – Procedural requirements and fairness West Nipissing (Municipality) Police Services Board v. West Nipissing (Municipality), [2018] O.J. No. 5958, 2018 ONSC 6454, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, November 14, 2018, H.S. Arrell R.S.J., G.M. Mulligan, W.M. Matheson ...

Applicants who were afforded procedural fairness lost an application to quash a bylaw affecting other individuals not before the Court

27. September 2016 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Municipal councils – Municipalities – By-laws – Planning and zoning – Notice and consultation – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Parties – Notice Miner v. Kings (County), [2016] N.S.J. No. 260, 2016 NSSC 163, Nova Scotia Supreme Court, April 7, 2016, C. R. Coughlan ...

Judicial review may not be utilized where an adequate alternative remedy, such as a statutory right of appeal, has not been exhausted prior to judicial review proceedings being taken

22. December 2015 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Municipal councils – Municipalities – By-laws – Nuisance – Continuing contravention – Extension of time – Appeals – Remedies – Alternative remedies – Judicial review – Delay – Limitation of actions Moyer v. Corman Park No. 344 (Rural Municipality), [2015] S.J. No. 513, 2015 SKQB 281, Saskatchewan ...

The Cape Breton University Student’s Union (“CBUSU”) attempted to defederate from the Canadian Federation of Students (“CFS”) through a March 2008 referendum without complying with CFS Bylaws; the referendum was held to be invalid and CBUSU was ordered to pay outstanding fees from the date of the referendum

22. September 2015 0
Administrative law – Associations and clubs – Governance – Elections – By-laws – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Procedural requirements and fairness Canadian Federation of Students v. Cape Breton University Students’ Union, [2015] O.J. No. 3633, 2015 ONSC 4093, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, July 10, 2015, R. Beaudoin J. The CFS claimed ...

The plaintiff homeowner (Mr. Glaspell) took issue with his neighbour’s construction of a dock and boathouse on Big Cedar Lake. Mr. Glaspell commenced an action against several parties. He then brought a partial motion for summary judgment against some of the defendants seeking declarations with respect to the regulation of docks and boathouses constructed on Ontario lakes. The Court held that the defendant (the Corporation of the Township of North Kawartha) did have jurisdiction to enact and apply by-laws to these structures. The Court also held that occupancy permits and work permits were necessary for these structures.

28. July 2015 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Ministerial orders – Natural resources – Water – Municipalities – By-laws – Power to enact by-laws – Planning and zoning – Building permits – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Jurisdiction Glaspell v. Ontario (Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing), [2015] O.J. No. 3246, 2015 ONSC 3965, Ontario ...

In overturning the Court of Appeal’s decision, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified that where a court reviews a decision of a specialized administrative tribunal (such as a human rights tribunal), the standard of review must be determined on the basis of administrative law principles, whether the review is conducted in the context of an application for judicial review or of a statutory appeal. The SCC also determined that while the correctness standard of review applied to one aspect of the tribunal’s decision (the scope of the state’s duty of religious neutrality), the reasonableness standard applied to the other aspects of the decision, including whether or not the complainant had been discriminated against. In her concurring judgment, Abella J. was concerned with the majority’s use of different standards of review for different aspects of the tribunal’s decision. She said that extricating the question of the state’s duty of religious neutrality from the other aspects of the tribunal’s decision regarding the discrimination analysis directly conflicts with the jurisprudence and creates another confusing caveat to the Dunsmuir framework.

26. May 2015 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Tribunal – Municipalities – By-laws – Human Rights – Discrimination – Religion – Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Judicial review – Jurisdiction – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter – Remedies – Damages Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay (City), [2015] S.C.J. No. ...

The community association successfully applied for judicial review of a decision by the City of Vancouver and Development Permit Board approving a rezoning bylaw and issuing a development permit for construction of a 36-storey mixed use tower. The court quashed the bylaw and development permit, and directed new hearings, finding that the public hearing process was flawed. The bylaw and development permit arose out of a negotiation between the city and developer for a land exchange proposal, whereby the parties would swap properties across the street from one another and the developer would renovate its former building to provide the city with affordable housing units and obtain rezoning of the former city building so that it could construct a 36-storey tower. The court found that the procedure adopted by the city was unfairly restrictive and directed new hearings which would permit concerned citizens to address the whole project, including the essence and value of the land exchange to the city and its residents.

24. March 2015 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Municipal councils – Municipalities – By-laws – Change of by-laws – Planning and zoning – Notice and consultation – Hearings – Conduct of hearings – Disclosure of documents – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Evidence Community Assn. of New Yaletown v. City of Vancouver, ...