Kirk Lambrecht

MiningWatch Canada appealed a decision regarding the federal environmental assessment of a proposed copper and gold mine.

The responsible authorities had scoped the project to exclude the mine and mill, thereby conducting a screening rather than a comprehensive study.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the environmental assessment track must be determined by the project as proposed by the proponent, meaning a comprehensive study was required.

However, the Court limited the remedy to a declaration, declining to order the proponent to repeat the assessment process.

The appellant, a federal public servant, was declared surplus and sought early retirement incentive benefits provided by regulation.

His application was rejected, and he was subsequently laid off.

While his lay-off was arbitrable under the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA), his claim for benefits was grievable but not arbitrable.

Instead of grieving the denial of benefits, the appellant initiated a negligence action in the Federal Court.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the PSSRA does not explicitly oust the courts' residual jurisdiction, the courts should generally decline to intervene in workplace disputes where Parliament has established a comprehensive statutory scheme, even if that scheme does not provide for independent third-party adjudication.

The appeal was dismissed.