A teacher (“Kempling”) appealed the decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court dismissing his appeal from a decision of a Hearing Panel of the British Columbia College of Teachers (the “College”) finding him guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the College, and suspending his teaching certificate for one month. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the court below was not in error in upholding the decision of the Panel. The Court of Appeal held that it was not open for Kempling to raise section 2(a) of the Charter as he had failed to appear before the Panel at the first hearing and laid no evidentiary basis to assess any alleged infringement of his religious freedom.

23. August 2005 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Teachers – Appeals – Evidence – Teachers – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Penalties – Charter of Rights – Freedom of expression – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Correctness Kempling v. British Columbia College ...

The Court allowed an appeal by the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers’ Marketing Board and reinstated a decision of the Respondent’s Appeal Tribunal which had found the Respondent, Stetler, guilty of engaging in the unlawful sale of tobacco outside the auspices of the Board’s quota system. The reviewing judge had erred in failing to properly determine the appropriate standard of review applicable to the Tribunal’s decision and by applying a standard of correctness rather than reasonableness.

23. August 2005 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Marketing Boards – Penalties – Judicial review – Evidence – Witnesses – Bias – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – Correctness Stetler v. Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal, [2005] O.J. No. 2817, Ontario Court of Appeal, July 8, 2005, S. Borins, K.N. Feldman and E.A. ...

A 25-year veteran (“Read”) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) did not succeed on judicial review from the decision of the Assistant Commissioner that he had breached the RCMP Code of Conduct and should be dismissed for discussing an investigation into suspected criminal activity in and about the Immigration Section of the Canadian Mission in Hong Kong with the media, when he had earlier sworn an Oath of Secrecy

26. July 2005 0
Administrative law – Police – Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Disciplinary proceedings – Penalties and suspensions – Whistle-blower defence – Evidence – Public interest test – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter Read v. Canada (Attorney General), [2005] F.C.J. No. 990, Federal Court, June 2, 2005, Harrington J. In 1991 and ...

The Federal Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision in respect of access to a legal advice memorandum commissioned by the Canadian government regarding a series of Access to Information Requests. Solicitor-client privilege was held to apply to prevent the Commissioner from accessing the memo.

26. July 2005 0
Administrative law – Freedom of information and protection of privacy – Disclosure – Access to information – Production of records – Prime Minister’s Office – Legal memorandum – Solicitor-client privilege – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Standard of review – Correctness Canada (Attorney General) v. Canada (Information Commissioner), [2005] F.C.J. No. 926, Federal Court of Appeal, ...

The family owners of a ranch (the “Chivers”) were unsuccessful in their appeal from certain aspects of a decision of the Expropriation Compensation Board (the “Board”) which had fixed compensation for the effect upon their ranch of the expropriation of a portion of that land for highway widening project

26. July 2005 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Expropriation Compensation Board – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter Chivers v. British Columbia, [2005] B.C.J. No. 1227, British Columbia Court of Appeal, June 3, 2005, Esson, Prowse and Lowry JJ.A. The Chivers property was bisected by a highway such that the northern ...

The Court allowed the Applicants’ application for judicial review and set aside a report by the Public Service Integrity Officer (“PSIO”) concerning allegations by the Applicants of wrongdoing at Health Canada. The Court found that the PSIO had failed to conduct the investigation in accordance with its mandate, by failing to address the concerns of the Applicants, and thereby making an error in law.

28. June 2005 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Public Service Integrity Officer – Investigations – Jurisdiction – Public interest – Judicial review – Disclosure – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter Chopra v. Canada (Attorney General), [2005] F.C.J. No. 712, Federal Court, April 29, 2005, O’Keefe J. The four Applicants were employees of the ...

The Court allowed the appeal of a teacher who had been found guilty of professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming a teacher by the Respondent College. The Court found that the College had erred in concluding that the Appellant’s mental condition was irrelevant to a determination of whether his conduct amounted to professional misconduct.

28. June 2005 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Teachers – Teachers – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – What constitutes – Mental condition – Relevancy – Penalties – Public interest – Judicial review – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter Stuart v. British Columbia College of Teachers, [2005] B.C.J. No. 989, British ...

The Court dismissed the Petitioner’s appeal of a decision of the Respondent College’s Registration Committee which had dismissed her appeal regarding the results of her written examination for qualification. The Court found that the Registration Committee had not violated the principles of natural justice in administering the written examination, the College had not acted on irrelevant considerations in setting the passing score for the written examination and the College had not violated the rules of natural justice in conducting the Petitioner’s internal appeal.

28. June 2005 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners – Licence to practice – Examinations – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Natural justice – Legitimate expectations – Appeal process – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter Eliott v. College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists ...

Corporations who had commenced a re-zoning application to permit construction of a five-storey apartment building appealed the decision of a reviewing judge declaring an amending bylaw invalid due to a breach of procedural fairness during the hearing to adopt the bylaw

28. June 2005 0
Administrative law – Municipalities – Planning and zoning – Power to amend by-laws – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Public hearings – Standard of review – Correctness Keefe v.Clifton Corp., [2005] A.J. No. 371, Alberta Court of Appeal, April 12, 2005, McFadyen, Russell and Berger JJ.A. Residents of the area where the apartment ...

The Court of Appeal held that a board of inquiry appointed under the Human Rights Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 214 (the “Act”) was not entitled to make an award of legal costs as part of its compensation award

28. June 2005 0
Administrative law – Human rights complaints – Discrimination – Costs – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Human Rights Tribunal – Right to award costs – Judicial review – Jurisdiction of tribunal – Standard of review – Correctness Halifax (Regional Municipality) v. Nova Scotia (Human Rights Commission), [2005] N.S.J. No. 156, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, April 22, 2005, ...