Author Archives: Shaun Fluker

About Shaun Fluker

B.Comm. (Alberta), LL.B. (Victoria), LL.M. (Calgary). Associate Professor. Please click here for more information.

Comments on the Proposed Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy

By: Shaun Fluker and Drew Yewchuk

PDF Version: Comments on the Proposed Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy

Proposed Policy Commented On: Government of Canada. Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy [Proposed]

Environment and Climate Change Canada has released a series of proposed new guidelines for interpreting various portions of the Species at Risk Act, SC 2002, c 29 (SARA). One of these new proposals is policy guidance on how section 73 of SARA will be interpreted and applied – the Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy. Section 73 is the provision in SARA which allows for the authorization of harm to listed endangered or threatened species or their critical habitat. In the absence of a section 73 permit, such harm constitutes an offence under SARA. The Public Interest Law Clinic was retained by the Alberta Wilderness Association and the Timberwolf Wilderness Society to assist them in formulating a submission to Environment and Climate Change Canada on this proposed new policy guidance for section 73, and this post reproduces the essence of that submission below.

This submission begins by setting out principles which should guide the interpretation of the Species at Risk Act, SC 2002, c 29 [SARA]. This submission then provides the relevant portions of section 73 along with judicial consideration thereof. This submission then proceeds by providing our comments on the proposed policy guidance. Continue reading →

The Supreme Court of Canada (By a Slim Majority) Confirms the Presumption of Deference in Alberta

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: The Supreme Court of Canada (By a Slim Majority) Confirms the Presumption of Deference in Alberta

Case Commented On: Edmonton (City) v Edmonton East (Capilano) Shopping Centres Ltd,  2016 SCC 47

In 2015 the Alberta Court of Appeal issued two decisions which suggested the Court is attempting to curtail the presumption of deference in the judicial review (or statutory appeal) of statutory tribunal decisions in this province: see Edmonton (East) Capilano Shopping Centres Ltd v Edmonton (City), 2015 ABCA 85 (CanLII) (Capilano, ABCA) which I commented on in Where Are We Going on Standard of Review in Alberta? and Stewart v Elk Valley Coal Corporation, 2015 ABCA 225 (CanLII) which I commented on in Fundamental Legal Questions and Standard of Review in Alberta. The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal on both decisions, and on November 4 the Supreme Court issued its decision in Capilano: Edmonton (City) v Edmonton East (Capilano) Shopping Centres Ltd, 2016 SCC 47 (Capilano) . The slim majority judgment (5-4) written by Justice Andromache Karakatsanis reverses the Court of Appeal on both its standard of review analysis and on the merits of the case by restoring the assessment review board decision. The result for standard of review analysis is that the presumption of deference to substantive decisions made by statutory tribunals should be alive and well in Alberta, but it should be noted there is a growing resistance to the presumption not only at the Alberta Court of Appeal but also within the Supreme Court of Canada. Continue reading →

Does Judicial Review Apply to Decisions Made by Religious Groups?

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Does Judicial Review Apply to Decisions Made by Religious Groups?

Case Commented On: Wall v Judicial Committee of the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2016 ABCA 255 (CanLII)

September at the law school for me includes getting back to the basics of administrative law with the 2Ls as we begin another academic year in the JD curriculum. Early on we study Justice Rand’s seminal 1959 judgment on abuse of discretion in Roncarelli v Duplessis, [1959] SCR 121 (CanLII) (as an aside for some interesting footage of media coverage on Roncarelli see here – thanks to my colleague Professor Martin Olszynski for passing this along), and then we move along to the doctrine of procedural fairness and the threshold question of when does a decision-maker exercising authority owe a duty of fairness. As it turns out, the Alberta Court of Appeal has very recently split over this threshold question in Wall v Judicial Committee of the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2016 ABCA 255 (CanLII) and this is the subject of my comment here. The point of interest in Wall for administrative law is that the majority (written by Madam Justices Paperny and Rowbotham) rules the doctrine of procedural fairness applies to the impugned decision of the Highwood Congregation even though it is a non-statutory entity exercising power that is not sourced in legislation and does not purport to affect legal rights. Justice Wakeling provides a strong dissent on this point. Continue reading →

The Standard of Patent Unreasonableness Lives On

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: The Standard of Patent Unreasonableness Lives On

Case Commented On: British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal) v Fraser Health Authority, 2016 SCC 25 (CanLII)

In its recent British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal) v Fraser Health Authority, 2016 SCC 25 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada engages in a review of a tribunal decision which emanates from British Columbia. From the perspective of administrative law jurisprudence, what is noteworthy about this decision is that the Supreme Court applies the standard of patent unreasonableness in its review. Yes that’s right – this is the same standard of review which was shown the door by the Supremes in Dunsmuir. This decision reminds us that the standard of patent unreasonableness lives on in judicial review where a legislature has preserved it under a statute, as is the case in British Columbia with sections 58 and 59 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, SBC 2004 c 45, but offers nothing explicit on how this fits into general principles of administrative law. Continue reading →

Court of Queen’s Bench Strikes Prohibition on Pharmacy Inducements in Alberta

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Court of Queen’s Bench Strikes Prohibition on Pharmacy Inducements in Alberta

Case Commented On: Sobeys West Inc v Alberta College of Pharmacists, 2016 ABQB 232

In late March I wrote a post commenting on the difficult application of a standard of review analysis to a vires determination of subordinate legislation – see Does the Standard of Review Analysis Apply to a Vires Determination of Subordinate Legislation? The decision before me then was Sobeys West Inc v Alberta College of Pharmacists, 2016 ABQB 138, wherein Mr. Justice V.O. Ouellette selected the standard of correctness to assess the vires of a prohibition enacted as subordinate legislation by the Alberta College of Pharmacists (“College”). This comment now looks at the substantive decision issued April 22 by Justice Ouellette ruling that the prohibition is ultra vires the College. I think there are some doctrinal problems with the reasoning in this judgment which I explain below, and I conclude this comment by shining some light on the fact that the successful party – Sobeys – is a large and powerful national grocery retailer in Canada who appears to convince the Court that this matter is more about consumers than patients.  Continue reading →