The Appellant was charged with professional misconduct after publicly demonstrating with a group outside of the Planned Parenthood Sexual Health Centre in Regina. Prior to the hearing, the applicant sought a writ of prohibition to prohibit the Discipline Committee from proceeding with the hearing into his conduct on the grounds that his Charter rights would be infringed if the Discipline Committee determined that whatever occurred while he was picketing amounted to professional misconduct within the meaning of the Act. The court concluded that the Act provides an alternative remedy with rights of appeal for the member being disciplined and that the alternative remedy was adequate. The applicant’s application was dismissed in its entirety and the Association was awarded costs.

25. March 2003 0
Administrative law – Nurses – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Charter of Rights – Remedies – Alternative remedies – Self-governing professions – Statutory provisions Whatcott v. Saskatchewan Assn. of Licensed Practical Nurses, [2003] S.J. No. 54, Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, January 7, 2003, Gunn J. The applicant was a member of the ...

The majority of the Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal of a B.C. Court of Appeal decision setting aside the decision of the B.C. Supreme Court which quashed a school board resolution declining to approve three books depicting same-sex parented families as supplementary learning resources for use in kindergarten/grade one classrooms. The majority concluded that the School Board’s decision was unreasonable in the context of the educational scheme laid down by the legislature. The question whether the books should be approved as supplementary learning resources was remanded to the Board’s consideration according to the criteria laid out in the curriculum guidelines and the broad principles of tolerance and non-sectarianism underlying the School Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 412.

28. January 2003 0
Administrative law – School boards – Powers and duties – Selection of books – Statutory provisions – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness Chamberlain v. Surrey School District No. 36, [2002] S.C.J. No. 87, Supreme Court of Canada, December 20, 2002, McLachlin C.J. and L’Heureux-Dubé, Gonthier, Iacobucci, Major, Bastarache, Binnie, Arbour and LeBel JJ. ...