Judicial Review of Government Contracts
March 21, 2024 By Nick Melchiorre Judicial review is like an express lane towards a court decision – it is only available to review administrative decisions of governmental bodies. occasionally clogged by a twelve-car pileup, but more efficient than the typical Superior Court collector lane pace. Also like an express lane, it only works to […]
Time Limits and Judicial Review
February 13, 2024 By Mark Mikulasik Beware the time limit to apply for judicial review of an administrative decision. The Judicial Review Procedures Act provides that “an application for judicial review shall be made no later than 30 days after the date the decision or matter for which judicial review is being sought was made […]
Appealing With Leave
January 18, 2024 By Mark Mikulasik An order of the Ontario Land Tribunal may be appealed to Divisional Court, on a question of law only, and only with leave of the court. THE ISSUES 2541005 Ontario Ltd. v. Oro-Medonte (Township), et al., looks at two important issues: When is it premature to seek leave? What […]
Suing Tribunals
December 26, 2023 By Brian Babcock THE ISSUE In most situations, it is impossible to sue the tribunal, its members, or the Crown. If you are dissatisfied with a decision of an administrative tribunal, you should determine your rights to appeal, or obtain judicial review. THE CASE This is illustrated by the decision of the […]
Causation in Human Rights Cases
November 16, 2023 By Brian Babcock In law, we talk about “causation” as the relationship between a person’s actions and the results that follow. It is a complex legal concept and differs by area of law. The application of the concept in human rights complaints differs materially from the general notions of causation. Causation Generally […]
Administrative Appeals May Be Premature
May 25, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre Timing can be everything. THE ISSUE If you are on the wrong end of an administrative decision and have a right to appeal, make sure that you do it at the correct time or you may waste time, money, and energy by having to start all over again. THE […]
Jurisdiction and Human Rights: An Ontario Perspective
November 3, 2022 By Brian Babcock We wrote a while ago about the Supreme Court of Canada decision that got sensationalist headlines because the court ruled that under Manitoba legislation, arbitrators had exclusive jurisdiction over human rights complaints where there was a collective agreement that contained the usual privative clause protecting arbitrators’ jurisdiction. Prior to […]
The Reason For Reasons
October 14, 2022 By Nick Melchiorre …the exercise of public power must be justified, intelligible and transparent, not in the abstract, but to the individuals subject to it.” So said the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, the 2019 case which restated the approach that courts take to a […]
Human Rights and the Courts
September 24, 2022 By Brian Babcock What happens when you believe that you have been wrongfully dismissed and at the same time have a human rights complaint arising from your employment? The Ontario Human Rights Code section 46.1 permits you to include a claim for breaches of the Code in your lawsuit to Superior Court […]
Sometimes Fairness is About The Golden Rule
September 18, 2022 By Brian Babcock “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is a lesson most judges seem to retain from school days and may be an important consideration in how those judges view issues of fairness in administrative decision making. THE ISSUE When somebody requiring a registration certificate in […]