Here is a technical problem, discussed in Yellow Cab Company Ltd. v. Passenger Transportation Board, 2014 BCCA 329. When a decision-maker reconsiders, or refuses to reconsider a decision, what is the significance of the original decision for a judicial review application? As a general rule: [40]        Where a party has taken advantage of […] Read more

I posted recently about Canada’s new anti-spam law, mentioning the challenges that the CRTC would face in implementing it. The CRTC has established a complaints mechanism which can be accessed via its website.  Have a look here. It is proving popular: more than 1,000 complaints were received in the first week. By the end of […] Read more

This is the last extract from my forthcoming article, “Canada’s Bi-Polar Administrative Law: Time for Fusion“. I detail how procedural and substantive review might be fused and, in particular, why traditionalists should not flinch. Download the paper here.   It is now necessary to consider how the two poles might be fused. One possibility is […] Read more

Here is the second extract from my forthcoming article, “Canada’s Bi-Polar Administrative Law: Time for Fusion“, in which I argue for deference on questions of procedural fairness. This extract makes an argument specific to Canada. Download the paper here.     The Court’s recent insistence that “the standard for determining whether the decision maker complied […] Read more

Philip Hamburger‘s Is Administrative Law Unlawful? has been getting much attention in the blogosphere recently. Hamburger guest-blogged at the Volokh Conspiracy — and his series of posts laid out his position, an emphatic “Yes”, with admirable clarity — and his detractors (Adrian Vermeule, here and here) and supporters (Gary Lawson, Michael Ramsey) are now hammering […] Read more

In a forthcoming essay, “Canada’s Bi-Polar Administrative Law: Time For Fusion“, I argue that courts should defer to administrative decision-makers on questions of procedural fairness. In this extract, I develop an argument from first principles; in subsequent extracts, I will make an argument specific to Canada, and detail how a deferential approach might operate. Download […] Read more

Canadian decisions on internal appellate review are coming thick and fast. Another one arrived last week, with some media fanfare: Huruglica v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2014 FC 799. Here, Phelan J. gave the Refugee Appeal Division a very broad role indeed. Rebuking the Division for applying judicial review standards to an internal appeal, he […] Read more

Here is an interesting case about judicial review of regulations with, in the background, a hint that regulatory power was used to hinder an emerging business model Sobeys West Inc. v. College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, 2014 BCSC 1414. Using its broad statutory powers, the College prohibited pharmacy loyalty schemes, the practice of giving […] Read more

This year, I have produced three lengthy papers focusing primarily on pressing doctrinal issues in Canadian administrative law. The last of these is Canada’s Bi-Polar Administrative Law: Time for Fusion. Here is the abstract: A bi-polarity afflicts the Canadian law of judicial review of administrative action. On matters of substance – interpretations of law and […] Read more

I have a new essay on SSRN, “Administrative Law: A Values-Based Approach“, prepared for the inaugural Public Law Conference at the University of Cambridge later this year. This is the latest in a series of mini-posts. Download the whole essay here. Institutional Considerations Various institutional considerations may be invoked from time to time to supplement […] Read more