By: Shaun Fluker
Case Commented On: Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development v Canada (Attorney General), 2008 FC 302
In late 2006, media attention in Alberta was directed to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, home to the Alberta oil sands and boom town Fort McMurray as the modern rendition of the 1800s frontier gold rush. Apparently, the Municipality was about to cook the goose that had laid the golden egg.
Cases Considered: Weir v. Canada (Registrar of Firearms), 2008 ABPC 18, Woodcock v. Canada (Registrar of Firearms), 2008 ABPC 19
PDF Version: The Shotgun Approach to Judicial Review
These two almost identical judgments of Provincial Court Judge Bruce R. Fraser confirmed refusals by the Registrar to issue registration certificates for prohibited weapons. They were both references made pursuant to section 74 of the Firearms Act, S.C. 1995, c. 39. The standard of the review to be conducted by a provincial court judge in such a reference has been a controversial matter. Various methods for selecting the appropriate standard of review in a section 74 reference have been proposed and implemented by Alberta courts. The jurisprudence thus far suggests this shotgun approach is missing the mark when it comes to standard of review.
Cases Considered: Airport Self Storage and R.V. Centre Ltd. v. Leduc (City), 2008 ABQB 12
PDF Version: City Amends Land Use Bylaw in Bad Faith
Although municipal councils in Alberta are generally entitled to amend land use bylaws by following procedures set out in the Municipal Government Act (the “MGA”), R.S.A. 2000, c. M-26, this decision tells us that sometimes a council will have to go further in order to ensure procedural fairness. There are circumstances where personalized written notice of a hearing to consider a proposed land use amendment will be required. As always, the content of the duty of fairness varies according to the particular facts of each case. The facts here are lengthy, but they are critical.
Cases Considered: Johnston v. Alberta (Vital Statistics), 2008 ABCA 2, Johnston v. Alberta (Director of Vital Statistics, 2007 ABCA 394, Johnston v. Alberta (Director of Vital Statistics), 2007 ABQB 597
PDF Version: Leave to Intervene Denied to Métis Nation in Case Involving Disinterment of RCMP
The case concerning Constable Lionide (Leo) Johnston’s place of burial has been before the Alberta courts a number of times, and has received a fair degree of media attention. Constable Johnston was one of four RCMP officers killed in the line of duty on March 3, 2005 near Mayerthorpe, Alberta.
Cases Considered: Sawyer v. Alberta (Energy and Utilities Board), 2007 ABCA 297
PDF Version: Standing Against Public Participation at the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board
In September 2007, the Alberta Court of Appeal denied leave to appeal an AEUB (now the Energy Resources Conservation Board) decision that affirmed its longstanding position that participatory rights to contest the merits of an energy project by, for example, presenting evidence and/or cross-examining the project proponent, are not available to recreational users of public lands or urban environmentalists.
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