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Judicial review of tribunal's refusal to adjourn dismissed as premature; no breach of natural justice established.
The applicants sought urgent judicial review of an Ontario Securities Commission decision denying their request to adjourn a hearing.
The adjournment was requested after the applicants' expert lost her work product due to a computer error.
The Divisional Court dismissed the application as premature, applying the general rule that procedural decisions of administrative tribunals should not be reviewed prior to the final determination of the proceeding unless there is a prospect of real unfairness amounting to a denial of natural justice.
The Court found the Commission's conclusion that the expert could be adequately prepared was reasonable.
Provincial heritage conservation legislation authorizing the alteration of aboriginal heritage objects is constitutionally valid.
The appellant First Nation challenged the constitutionality of provisions in British Columbia's Heritage Conservation Act that allowed the Minister to issue permits authorizing the alteration or destruction of aboriginal heritage objects, specifically culturally modified trees.
The appellants argued the provisions were ultra vires the province as they intruded on the federal power over Indians and lands reserved for Indians.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the impugned provisions were valid provincial legislation falling within the province's jurisdiction over property and civil rights.
The Court found the legislation did not single out aboriginal peoples or impair their status, but rather established a balanced scheme for heritage conservation that applied generally across the province.
