Andrew Raven

The applicant unions brought an application seeking a declaration that the Expenditure Restraint Act is unconstitutional and of no force and effect, arguing it violated their members' freedom of association under s. 2(d) of the Charter by rolling back and capping wage increases.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, finding that the legislation did not substantially interfere with the freedom of association, as it applied broadly across the federal public sector and did not target associational activities.

The court further held that even if there was a breach of s. 2(d), it would be saved under s. 1 of the Charter as a demonstrably justified response to the 2008 global economic crisis.

This appeal considered whether actuarial surpluses recorded in federal public-sector superannuation accounts were assets in which plan members held legal or equitable interests.

The Court held the accounts were statutory accounting records tracking Consolidated Revenue Fund transactions, not segregated asset pools.

It rejected claims based on proprietary entitlement, fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, constructive trust, and alleged expropriation.

The Court further held the statutory amendments authorized debiting surplus amounts and did not require compensation.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

This administrative law appeal concerned judicial review of a staffing tribunal decision rejecting an abuse-of-authority complaint under federal public service staffing legislation.

The Court held that the tribunal reasonably concluded there was no legal requirement to use a particular appointment process based on whether a position was new or reclassified.

It further held the reviewing court improperly assessed a different theory than the one advanced in the complaint and impermissibly reweighed the record on judicial review.

The appeal was allowed, with the tribunal decision restored.

Public sector unions and individual employees brought constitutional challenges to two federal statutes enacted through omnibus budget legislation: the Expenditure Restraint Act and the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.

The applicants moved to sever the combined challenges or, alternatively, amend their applications to retain only the Expenditure Restraint Act challenge and pursue the pay equity challenge later.

The respondent opposed severance, arguing the evidence and pleadings were already intertwined.

The court held that although the Rules of Civil Procedure do not expressly provide for severance of an application, leave to amend under Rule 26.01 was appropriate because no non-compensable prejudice would result.

Leave was granted to amend the notices of application to proceed only with the Expenditure Restraint Act challenge, without prejudice to commencing fresh applications challenging the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.

Applicants in two related constitutional applications sought procedural relief to separate challenges to two different federal statutes enacted within the same budget legislation: the Expenditure Restraint Act and the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.

They requested severance of the combined challenges or, alternatively, leave to amend the applications to pursue only the wage restraint challenge while preserving the right to challenge the pay equity legislation later.

The court held that although the Rules of Civil Procedure contain no explicit severance mechanism for applications, the requested relief could be granted through amendment principles under Rule 26.01 where no non-compensable prejudice arises.

The court granted leave to amend the notices of application to retain only the Expenditure Restraint Act challenge and permitted the applicants to commence a future application concerning the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.

No costs were awarded, and the parties were encouraged to seek case management.