Administrative Law Matters
Commentary on developments in administrative law, particularly judicial review of administrative action by common law courts.
From Blogger
Putting the Katz amongst the Pigeons
Paul Daly November 26, 2013
In Zenner v. Prince Edward Island College of Optometrists, [2005] 3 SCR 645, one of the conditions imposed by his professional body on an optometrist who had lost his licence was that he complete an accredited medical ethics or optometrist course. The problem was that, at the time, the College had not accredited any such […] Read more
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Drugs and Administrative Law: Katz Group Canada Inc. v. Ontario (Health and Long-Term Care), 2013 SCC 64
Paul Daly November 22, 2013
The Supreme Court of Canada had not addressed a challenge to the vires of delegated legislation since reformulating the framework for judicial review of administrative action in Dunsmuir until today’s decision in Katz Group Canada Inc. v. Ontario (Health and Long-Term Care), 2013 SCC 64. A good summary is available here.The Court took a classical […] Read more
From Blogger
Chevron Deference in Canada?
Paul Daly November 21, 2013
The comments of Evans J.A. in Qin v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 FCA 263 are obiter, strictly speaking, but they are comments by Evans J.A. and will carry a great deal of weight.There are two important aspects to Evans J.A.’s formulation of the rules for judicial review of administrative interpretations of law. First, where […] Read more
From Blogger
The Lori Douglas Inquiry
Paul Daly November 21, 2013
The Lori Douglas affair took a spectacular new turn yesterday, when the entire Inquiry Committee resigned. The Committee, established under the Judges Act, was inquiring into allegations against a Manitoba judge. The Committee published reasons for its decision. Notably, the Committee felt its function was being frustrated by the resort of various parties to the […] Read more
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Light blogging, heavy writing
Paul Daly November 19, 2013
I have been quiet for the last couple of weeks, mainly because I have been working on two fairly extensive projects (along with the usual term-time workload) with short deadlines. One of these is a set of written submissions to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, at which I am giving evidence […] Read more
From Blogger
Canada’s Senate: Advisory Elections and the Fettering of Discretion
Paul Daly November 12, 2013
The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing argument this week on a set of questions relating to the reform (or abolition) of the Senate. Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982 sets out various procedures for constitutional amendment. The Court has to determine which matters fall under which procedures. The Senate Reference involves classical questions […] Read more
From Blogger
Deference Denied on Questions of Procedural Fairness: Osborn v. The Parole Board, [2013] UKSC 61
Paul Daly November 8, 2013
Traditionally courts have seen themselves as the guardians of fair procedures. The substance of administrative decisions is for the decision-makers: they are the ones entrusted by the legislature with making decisions, and they have the expertise to do so. Courts have been much less deferential in addressing the processes by which those decisions are reached. […] Read more
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Sequesters, Quarantines, or Common Sense?
Paul Daly November 6, 2013
There are important legal questions about the ability of the Canadian federal government to appoint members of the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal to the three Québec seats on the Supreme Court of Canada. I discuss some of these in this podcast with the McGill Law Journal. These questions will be answered by […] Read more
From Blogger
The Basis of Fairness in Administrative Law: Osborn v. The Parole Board
Paul Daly November 6, 2013
The recent UK Supreme Court decision in Osborn v. The Parole Board, [2013] UKSC 61 has already provoked interesting commentary on the relationship between the common law of procedural fairness and the European Convention on Human Rights. I have nothing to add to that commentary, but one of the things I find interesting about Osborn […] Read more
From Blogger
Using Administrative Law to Advance Substantive Equality
Paul Daly November 4, 2013
This is a second extract from my paper, co-written with Angela Cameron, on Furthering Substantive Equality through Administrative Law: Charter Values in Education. What follows is written for the context of education law, but applies much more broadly. What spaces exist for the furthering of substantive equality within the existing administrative law framework? Five can […] Read more