This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ The second proposition is that the heads of review – legality, rationality and procedural propriety – are too abstract to guide judges: “Though a convenient summary of our conclusions in any particular case, the doctrine cannot provide any justifying ground for those […] Read more

This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ In his writings on deference, Professor Allan picked up on a theme he had first elaborated in “Doctrine and theory in administrative law: an elusive quest for the limits of jurisdiction”.[1] As he later summarized his general position, doctrinal grounds of review […] Read more

In this post, I want to mark the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation by highlighting two recent Alberta Court of Appeal decisions on reconciliation and regulation. Both treat reconciliation as an integral part of the regulatory enterprise. Consider first Fort McKay First Nation v Prosper Petroleum Ltd, 2020 ABCA 163. Here, the Alberta Energy […] Read more

This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ It is necessary at the outset to define what I mean by “doctrine”. What I have in mind is an account which provides a “systemic conception” of a particular area of law, setting out the relevant principles, rules and standards in a […] Read more

For previous posts in this series, prepared for today’s University of Toronto symposium on Justice Abella, see here, here and here In the scholarly literature on deference, one finds pro-deference arguments based on legislative intent,[1] relative institutional competence,[2] democratic legitimacy[3] and much else besides.[4] These arguments tend to be developed from the perspective of the […] Read more

This is the latest in a series of posts on Justice Abella’s administrative law jurisprudence (see also here and here). What I find distinctive is her commitment to administrative autonomy, which I describe in this post. Tune in tomorrow to hear more! Justice Abella’s jurisprudence was, however, not all about protecting administrative decision-makers. On another […] Read more

I am speaking tomorrow (virtually) at a symposium at the University of Toronto celebrating Justice Abella’s career. My topic is the “Autonomy of Administration”, which I introduced in a previous post. Here is the first of two posts on Justice Abella’s promotion of administrative autonomy, to be followed tomorrow by a critical analysis of her […] Read more

The pertinence of international law for Canadian administrative decision-makers was an issue in Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Entertainment Software Association, 2022 SCC 30. The Supreme Court’s decision brings some clarity to the legal framework in this area, but could have been clearer on one point, about latent ambiguity, and […] Read more

The short answer is, “yes”, subject to complying with the duty of procedural fairness and providing a reasoned justification for doing so. After Mr Poilievre’s election as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada at the weekend, the online publication Central Banking asked me and several others whether he could follow through on his commitment […] Read more