Andrew Colautti

The applicants challenged the respondent Humane Society's Board of Directors' decision to move to a closed membership model and their refusal to recognize over 100 new members who joined via an online portal.

The court found that the Board acted in bad faith by arbitrarily refusing to approve the new memberships to prevent them from voting against the new by-law.

Furthermore, the court interpreted the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, concluding that the by-law amendments affecting membership transfers, notice, and proxy voting required a two-thirds special majority, not a simple majority.

The by-law was declared void and a new members' meeting was ordered.

The applicant physician sought judicial review of interim orders made by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which restricted his medical practice due to concerns that his conduct exposed patients to harm.

The applicant argued the decisions were unreasonable and procedurally unfair.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the ICRC reasonably relied on expert evidence to conclude patients were likely to be exposed to harm, and that the paper-based process followed by the ICRC met the required duty of procedural fairness for interim protective orders.