The applicant, a waterski school operating on Puslinch Lake, sought judicial review of a Navigation Protection Program Officer's decision to deny approval for two of its three waterskiing courses under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act.
The Officer required the applicant to apply for approval after receiving anonymous complaints about the courses.
The Officer denied the applications based on safety and navigational concerns raised in public comments, without disclosing the substance of the complaints or the method used to calculate a required horizontal buffer zone to the applicant.
The Federal Court found that the Officer owed a duty of procedural fairness to the applicant, which was breached by failing to provide notice of the concerns and an opportunity to respond.
The Court granted the application for judicial review, quashed the decisions, and remitted the matters for redetermination.
