The court held that a section of a by-law, which authorized an animal control officer to destroy a dog based on his belief that it had attacked another animal, was ultra vires the Municipality. The court quashed a decision purportedly made by a municipal officer in reliance on the section, and also held that the officer owed a duty of fairness to the dog owner, that he had not discharged, and which provided a further basis on which to quash the decision.

24. February 2009 0
Administrative law – Municipalities – Animal control – By-laws – Validity – Ultra vires – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Procedural requirements and fairness – Remedies – Certiorari Rogier v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), [2009] N.S.J. No. 19, Nova Scotia Supreme Court, January 16, 2009, D.R. Beveridge J. The Applicant applied for judicial review ...

WCB was required to disclose to a newspaper, the Halifax Herald Ltd., names of the 25 employers with highest employee injury incidence and answer related questions. While such disclosure would reveal labour relations information, it would not reveal information supplied by the employers, or if it did, the information was not information supplied in confidence. Disclosure could not reasonably be expected to significantly harm the employers’ competitive position or result in similar information no longer being supplied to the WCB. The disclosure of employers’ names would not constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy of the injured workers and was, in all the circumstances, in the public interest.

23. December 2008 0
Administrative law – Workers Compensation Board – Disclosure of third party records – Confidentiality – Freedom of information and protection of privacy – Invasion of personal privacy – Personal information – definition – Judicial review – Disclosure – Compliance with legislation – Public interest Halifax Herald Ltd. v. Nova Scotia (Workers’ Compensation Board), [2008] N.S.J. ...

City Council of Brampton was entitled to delegate to its Licensing Committee the power to make recommendations respecting a determination as to whether a “body rub parlour license” should be issued to the applicant. In making the recommendation, the Licensing Committee was required to hold a hearing. However, the City Council was entitled to accept such a recommendation without holding a further hearing in accordance with the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22.

23. December 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Municipal councils – Rules and by-laws – Municipalities – Permits and licences – Planning and zoning – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Statutory interpretation – Versions of legislation – Validity – Procedural requirements and fairness – Discretion of delegated authority 1673233 Ontario Inc. (c.o.b. Eurohaven ...

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 ...

Lewis Markowitz (the “Appellant”), appealed the decision of the Consent and Capacity Board (the “Board”) confirming the finding of a physician that the Appellant was incapable of consenting to treatment within the meaning of the Health Care Consent Act, S.O. 1996, c. 2 (“HCCA”). Pursuant to section 80 of the HCCA, the Appellant sought an Order quashing the decision of the Board and an Order finding the Appellant capable to consent to or refuse treatment, or, alternatively, an Order remitting the matter to the Board for a new hearing on the issue of capacity, with directions.

23. December 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Consent and Capacity Board – Capacity – Test Consent to treatment – Mental health – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Natural justice Markowitz v. Rootenberg, [2008] O.J. No. 5029, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, December 11, 2008, S.G. ...

An application of the British Columbia Securities Commission to quash the decision of the Employment Standards Tribunal confirming the Determination of the Director’s delegate was denied. The Court concluded that despite Director’s delegate’s, at times, inappropriate submissions before the Tribunal, the petitioner was afforded the required level of natural justice. The finding that s. 51 of the Employment Standards Act, which conferred a right to a parent to take 37 consecutive weeks of absence from work, required that the leave of absence had to begin, but not end within 12 months after the child’s birth, was upheld.

25. November 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Employment Standards Tribunal – Powers of director – Jurisdiction – Employment law – Benefits – Parental leave – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Patent unreasonableness – Procedural requirements and fairness – Compliance with legislation – Interpretation of legislation – Privative clauses British ...

An application for judicial review of a decision of an adjudicator appointed by the general manager of the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, was dismissed. The adjudicator’s decision that the petitioner had violated its Liquor Primary License was based on a correct interpretation of the regulations and was reasonable.

25. November 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Liquor Licensing Board – Permits and licences – Primary licences -Take away service – definition – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter – Compliance with legislation – Evidence – Burden of proof – Procedural requirements and fairness Liquor Stores Limited Partnership v. ...

A veterinarian appealed a decision of the Respondent Association, which had found him guilty of unprofessional conduct for inappropriately trapping, handling, and marketing white-tailed deer. The Court allowed the appeal and quashed the Association’s decision, on the basis that it had admitted into evidence a videotaped statement without a correct consideration of the applicable principles, contrary to specific provisions in the Wildlife Act and in breach of the discipline committee’s duty of fairness.

25. November 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Veterinary Associations – Veterinarians – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Judicial review – Hearsay evidence – admissibility – Natural justice – Procedural requirements and fairness – Compliance with legislation – Witnesses – Failure to provide adequate reasons – Standard of review – Correctness ...

A lawyer (“Sternberg”) was successful in his application for judicial review of a decision of the Ontario Racing Commission (the “Commission”) in which it ordered that Sternberg be prohibited from appearing as counsel before the Commission where the Court held that the hearing before the Commission was conducted in such a way as to raise a reasonable apprehension of bias towards Sternberg

25. November 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Racing Commission – Barristers and solicitors – Professional misconduct – Judicial review – Hearings – Conduct of hearings – Contempt – Procedural requirements and fairness – Bias – Reasonable apprehension of bias – test – Compliance with legislation – Jurisdiction of tribunal Sternberg v. Ontario (Racing Commission), ...

Pursuant to sections 75 and 76 of the of the Health Professions Procedural Code (the “Code”), which is Schedule 2 of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 18 (the “Act”), investigators appointed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario have the power to require observation of surgery conducted by members under investigation, require a member to participate in an interview, and compel a member to answer questions put by investigators. Applications for judicial review of the appointment of an investigator were dismissed on the basis that they were premature, as the investigations had only begun looking into the physicians’ practices and no disciplinary actions had been taken.

25. November 2008 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Physicians and Surgeons – Physicians and Surgeons – Professional misconduct – Incompetence – Investigations – Powers of investigators – Judicial review application – Striking out – Premature – Compliance with legislation – Statutory interpretation Gore v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, [2008] O.J. ...