Category: Administrative Law Page 11 of 37

By: Nicholas Konstantinov

PDF Version: Self-Incrimination Immunity and Professional Misconduct

Case Commented On: Toy v Edmonton (Police Service), 2018 ABCA 37 (CanLII)

In Toy v Edmonton (Police Service), the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed former Constable Elvin Toy’s appeal of a 2015 ruling that led to his discharge from the force. That year, the Law Enforcement Review Board upheld a Presiding Officer’s decision convicting Toy of deceit and misconduct in the course of fabricating evidence at an earlier proceeding. Toy argued that the Board failed to apply the appropriate standard of review to correct the Presiding Officer’s error in law, which resulted in admitting involuntary testimony that offended his privilege against self-incrimination.

Dunsmuir is Dead – Long Live Dunsmuir! An Argument for a Presumption of Correctness

By Martin Olszynski

On December 13, 2017

In Administrative Law

By: Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: Dunsmuir is Dead – Long Live Dunsmuir! An Argument for a Presumption of Correctness

Case Commented On: Garneau Community League v Edmonton (City), 2017 ABCA 374 (CanLII)

Garneau is the latest judicial plea to the Supreme Court of Canada to do something about the standard of review – three judges, three judgments, all concurring in the result but each getting there somewhat differently. The case involves Alberta’s Municipal Governments Act, RSA 2000 c M-26, including statutory rights of appeal that are similar to those recently considered by the Supreme Court (and only slightly less recently considered by the Alberta Court of Appeal) in Edmonton (City) v Edmonton East (Capilano) Shopping Centres Ltd., 2016 SCC 47 (CanLII). In this post, I highlight Justice Watson’s and Slatter’s concerns about the standard of review framework as set out in Dunsmuir v New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9 (CanLII) and its progeny. Before doing so, however, I first provide a primer on the Dunsmuir framework wherein I flag some of my own concerns. Drawing on these two parts, I then propose two concrete changes to the Dunsmuir framework that in my view would render it more coherent and stable, both doctrinally and practically.

Procedural Fairness in the Issuance of a Ministerial Order to Dismiss a Municipal Councilor under Section 574 of the Municipal Government Act

By Shaun Fluker

On November 10, 2017

In Administrative Law, Municipal Law

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Procedural Fairness in the Issuance of a Ministerial Order to Dismiss a Municipal Councilor under Section 574 of the Municipal Government Act

Case Commented On: Buryn v Alberta (Minister of Municipal Affairs), 2017 ABQB 613 (CanLII)

Municipalities in Alberta are creatures of statute and thus subject to both the oversight of the Minister of Municipal Affairs (Minister) and Alberta courts. When the affairs in a municipality go offside, the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000, c M-26 (MGA) provides mechanisms for bringing matters back into line. Municipal affairs in Thorhild County seem to have taken a turn for the worse several years ago, and led to the submission of a petition by electors asking the Minister to inquire into the conduct of the Thorhild municipal council and its chief administrative officer. The MGA provides the Minister with authority to conduct an inquiry into the affairs of a municipality or the conduct of municipal councilors. These powers are exercised on a fairly regular basis, with 33 entries listed on the government website since December 2009. The inspection into the affairs at Thorhild culminated in a Ministerial Order dismissing three members of the Thorhild council. On the eve of the recent municipal election, in Buryn v Alberta (Minister of Municipal Affairs) Madam Justice Dawn Pentelechuk quashed the Ministerial Order as unlawful for failing to afford the councilors procedural fairness.

A Closer Look at Leave to Appeal Requirements Under the Municipal Government Act (Alberta)

By Shaun Fluker

On October 19, 2017

In Administrative Law, Municipal Law

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: A Closer Look at Leave to Appeal Requirements Under the Municipal Government Act (Alberta)

Case Commented On: Arctos & Bird Management Ltd v Banff (Town), 2017 ABCA 300 (CanLII)

This is a decision by Justice Barbara Veldhuis to deny the applicant leave to appeal an approval for development of lands in the Town of Banff. Statutory leave to appeal decisions such as this rarely attract legal commentary because no substantive law is decided. These decisions result from an application before a justice in chambers from a person who seeks permission to proceed with a substantive appeal of an administrative decision. Nonetheless, I have been studying these leave to appeal decisions to better understand the basis upon which superior courts decide whether to hear an appeal from an administrative decision. Arctos & Bird Management provides me with an opportunity to add to the findings Drew Yewchuk and I previously disseminated on ABlawg in “Seeking Leave to Appeal a Statutory Tribunal Decision: What Principles Apply?” (“Seeking Leave”).

Apply … Deny … Repeat: A Victim of Crime Story

By Shaun Fluker

On September 22, 2017

In Administrative Law

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Apply … Deny … Repeat: A Victim of Crime Story

Case Commented On: Johnson v Alberta Criminal Injuries Review Board, 2017 ABCA 281 (CanLII)

This decision caught my attention because it reminded me of the movie Edge of Tomorrow wherein the main character lives the same day over and over fighting and dying in a repetitive time loop. Johnson v Alberta Criminal Injuries Review Board concerns an application by Johnson for a financial award under the Victims of Crime Act, RSA 2000 c V-3 as compensation for an injury he sustained as the victim of a stabbing. His initial 2010 application for compensation has been considered in numerous administrative adjudications under the Act and judicial scrutiny, and this most recent decision by the Court of Appeal sends it back for yet one more consideration. It is an interesting glimpse into a repetitive loop formed within an administrative regime, and the case also demonstrates why judicial oversight over the exercise of statutory power is an essential component of our legal system.