COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO
ABELLA, MACPHERSON AND SIMMONS JJ.A.
B E T W E E N :
ONTARIO FEDERATION OF ANGLERS & HUNTERS (“OFAH”) and C. DAVISON ANKNEY
Robert Charney and Hart Schwartz for the appellants
Applicants (Respondents)
- and -
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF ONTARIO as represented by the MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES and THE HONOURABLE JOHN SNOBELEN
Timothy Danson, for the respondents
Respondents (Appellants)
Heard: November 22, 2001
On appeal from an order of the Divisional Court (Southey, Kozak and Lederman JJ.) dated January 11, 2001, reported at 2001 40267 (ON SCDC), 196 D.L.R. (4th) 367.
ABELLA J.A.:
- [1] The issue in this appeal is whether the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of the spring bear hunt in Ontario give rise to an entitlement to examine the Premier and the Minister of Natural Resources.
BACKGROUND
- [2] The Minister of Natural Resources, John Snobelen, announced the government’s intention to cancel the spring bear hunt in a press release dated January 15, 1999, explaining the basis for the cancellation as follows:
Many people have told us that the way the hunt is conducted and the inevitable loss of some cubs are unacceptable. We have reviewed current practices and considered modifications; but none provide assurance those young bears and their mothers would be protected as they emerge from their dens in the spring.
[3] In October 1998, the Minister had asked his Deputy Minister to meet with representatives of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (“OFAH”), the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association (“NOTO”) and the Schad Foundation, an animal rights organization, in an attempt to find some common ground for changes to the spring black bear hunt. Three meetings were held. No consensus emerged from them.
[4] That December, the Minister requested that the Ministry staff prepare a paper to consider alternatives to the status quo that would reduce or eliminate cub orphaning in the spring.
[5] Early in January 1999, Premier Mike Harris called the Past President of NOTO to advise him of the government’s intention to end the spring bear hunt.
[6] On January 14, 1999, NOTO’s President wrote to the Premier’s Office to request an immediate meeting to discuss the proposed cancellation. As a result, the President of NOTO and other NOTO members were invited to meet with Minster Snobelen to discuss the proposed cancellation of the spring bear hunt.
[7] The meeting with NOTO took place on January 21, 1999. During this meeting, the Minister explained the Ministry’s obligations under the Environmental Bill of Rights process. He also discussed the possibility of compensation for the industry and listened to concerns about the economic consequences of the cancellation.
[8] That same day, a Notice of Proposal for a regulation that would close the spring season for hunting black bears was posted by the Ministry of Natural Resources on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry. The proposal’s stated purpose was to “eliminate the mistaken shooting of female bears with young cubs during the spring open hunting season”. The proposal also stated that “ending the spring bear hunt is the only way to guarantee that females with young cubs are not mistakenly shot during the hunt, thereby leaving orphans (which experience a high mortality rate at this time of year)”.
[9] The Notice of Proposal stated that written submissions could be made between January 21, 1999 and February 20, 1999. Thirty-five thousand, three hundred and forty-seven submissions were received by the government, 64 per cent opposing the government’s proposal to end the spring bear hunt and 35 per cent in support of it.
[10] The Minster held a meeting with his staff on March 3, 1999 to consider these responses and decided to end the spring bear hunt.
[11] The Record of Decision, dated March 3, 1999, enumerates the following factors as influencing the Minister’s decision:
• The growing concern from Ontario citizens that hunting bears in the spring when nursing cubs are dependent on their mothers is inappropriate.
• The majority of the submissions in the EBR process were made by hunters and bear hunt operators who opposed the proposed regulation, but that the EBR process is not a vote or plebiscite.
• The respondents in favour of the government’s decision were mostly unaffiliated with any particular group and likely represent a view held by a large number of Ontarians.
• Cancellation of the spring bear hunt could cause some economic hardship and the province should offer financial assistance to bear hunt operators and assist the tourist industry to attract alternative forms of tourism.
• The decision to close the spring bear hunt was not required for sustainable management of black bears in Ontario.
[12] On March 4, 1999, Ontario Regulation 670/98 was amended by Ont. Reg. 88/99 to delete the spring open season for black bears.
[13] On April 12, 1999, as a result of the cancellation, OFAH and NOTO brought an application for judicial review challenging the regulation.
[14] The primary challenge to the regulation was that it was ultra vires the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 41 in the following ways: the Minister failed to exercise his discretion at all, since the cancellation came as a directive from the Premier in response to pressure from industrialist Robert Schad; and the Minister took unethical hunting practices and political expediency into account in issuing the regulation, thereby considering improper purposes and “extraneous” factors.
[15] OFAH and NOTO also claimed that the regulation infringed their right to freedom of expression under s. 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the grounds that hunting was a form of expression; and that the regulation infringed their liberty and security interests under s. 7 of the Charter.
[16] The allegation of impropriety arises from the apparent change in the public position about the hunt taken by the Minister of Natural Resources. On December 17, 1998, the Minister had stated in a letter to major stakeholders that there was no basis for cancelling the spring bear hunt. Within a month, on January 15, 1999, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued its news release announcing its intention to end the spring bear hunt. There was, NOTO and OFAH claimed, no explanation for the abrupt reversal other than inappropriate influence on the Minister by the Premier.
[17] An application for an interim injunction was brought before Justice Stach in the Superior Court on April 28, 1999 to suspend the operation of the regulation until the merits of the judicial review could be heard by a full panel of the Divisional Court. Justice Stach dismissed the application on April 28, 1999.
[18] NOTO formally withdrew from the litigation in October, 1999.
[19] On March 9, 2000, the applicants served a Notice of Examination on the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable John Snobolen, and a Summons to Witness on the Premier, the Honourable Mike Harris, pursuant to rule 39.03 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
[20] On March 24, 2000, Yates J. quashed the processes, finding them to be an abuse of process.
[21] The Divisional Court, whose majority reasons were written by Justice Lederman, overturned Justice Yates’ decision on January 11, 2001 on the grounds that the evidence sought by OFAH was relevant to an issue in dispute, and ordered the examinations to proceed “limited to the sole issue of whether the Minister made his own decision in exercising his discretion to pass the regulation or whether he was merely directed to pass the regulation by the Premier without the exercise of any independent discretion.”
[22] Justice Kozak dissented on the basis that the subject matter of the dispute, a political decision, was not justiciable.
[23] The Divisional Court unanimously dismissed OFAH’s cross-motion seeking to prohibit the Crown from proceeding with its motion to strike out various affidavits and paragraphs in affidavits filed by the applicants.
[24] This is an appeal by the Crown from the decision of the Divisional Court permitting the examinations to take place.
[25] On appeal, OFAH brought an application to introduce fresh evidence from members of NOTO. The evidentiary record to date, in addition to the fresh evidence sought to be introduced, includes a thirteen-volume application record from OFAH.
APPLICABLE STATUTORY PROVISIONS
- [26] The relevant provisions of the Rules of Civil Procedure are rules 39.03(1) and (2):
39.03(1) Subject to subrule 39.02(2), a person may be examined as a witness before the hearing of a pending motion or application for the purpose of having a transcript of his or her evidence available for use at the hearing.
(2) A witness examined under subrule (1) may be cross-examined by the examining party and any other party and may then be re-examined by the examining party on matters raised by other parties, and the re-examination may take the form of cross-examination.
- [27] Section 113(1) of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act states:
113.(1) The Minister may make regulations,
(2) prescribing open seasons or closed seasons for wildlife.
ANALYSIS
[28] The application for judicial review challenges the validity of Ontario Regulation 670/98, as amended by Ontario Regulation 88/99, which terminated the spring open hunting season for black bears from April 15 to June 15.
[29] The primary claim by OFAH is that the Minister followed the dictates of the Premier rather than exercising his independent judgment, and that the Regulation is invalid because the decision to cancel the spring bear hunt was made for the extraneous reasons of political expedience and humane hunting practices.
[30] As the majority in the Divisional Court correctly observed, an examination under rule 39.03 is appropriate when the evidence sought is relevant to any issue raised on the main application. (See Payne v. Ontario (Human Rights Commission) (2000), 2000 5731 (ON CA), 192 D.L.R. (4th) 315 (Ont. C.A.) and Consortium Development (Clearwater) Ltd. v. Sarnia, 1998 762 (SCC), [1998] 3 S.C.R. 3). The onus is on the party seeking to conduct the examination to show on a reasonable evidentiary basis that the examination would be conducted on issues relevant to the pending application and that the proposed witness was in a position to offer relevant evidence.
[31] The majority also acknowledged that courts should be careful to ensure that a summons to witness directed to a Minister of the Crown under rule 39.03 is not simply for the purpose of “turning the court process into an extended battle ground for extracting information pertaining to the ongoing political debate. . . .” (Ontario Teachers’ Federation v. Ont. (A. G.) (1998), 1998 14680 (ON SC), 39 O.R. (3rd) 140 (Gen. Div.) at p. 148. See also Agnew v. Ontario Association of Architects (1987), 1987 4030 (ON SC), 64 O.R. (2nd) 8 (Div. Ct.) at p. 14‑15).
[32] However, it concluded that there was a live issue to which the evidence of the Premier and Minister would be relevant, namely, evidence that the Minister did not make his decision independently.
(a) Whether the Minister made the Decision at the Direction of the Premier
[33] OFAH alleges undue pressure on the Minister from the Premier resulting from a meeting on January 5 or 7, 1999 between Robert Schad and the Premier. There is no evidence in this record of such a meeting. The paragraph containing this allegation was struck from the application record by the February 27, 2001 consent order of Dunnet J. and there is therefore no evidence regarding the alleged meeting in the record before this court.
[34] Even if there were evidence of such a meeting, or of Mr. Schad’s influence on the Premier, or evidence that it was the Premier who urged passage of the Regulation, none of these facts has any legal relevance to whether the Regulation is valid.
[35] There is no doubt that Robert Schad and the Schad Foundation are well known animal rights activists, that they sought the cancellation of the spring bear hunt, and that they were committed to using their influence to try to persuade the government to end the hunt. But evidence of the Premier’s contact with Robert Schad, if there was any, or of his calling the past president of NOTO to let him know the government’s intention in January 1999, shows only that the Premier contacted major stakeholders. These were some of the stakeholders that the Minister himself had asked his Deputy to meet with in October 1998.
[36] The allegation that there has been a failure on the Minister’s part to exercise any independent discretion in passing the Regulation also ignores the fact that the passing of a regulation is not in itself an exercise of independent ministerial discretion. Moreover, in Thorne’s Hardware Limited v. The Queen, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 106, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the irrelevance of motives in determining the validity of a regulation:
. . . It is neither our duty nor our right to investigate the motives which impelled the federal Cabinet to pass the Order in Council.
. . . Governments do not publish reasons for their decisions; governments may be moved by any number of political, economic, social or partisan considerations. (at pp. 112-13)
(See also New Brunswick Broadcasting Company v. Donahue, [1993] 1. S.C.R. 319 at 389 per McLachlin J.)
[37] Similarly, in Canadian Association of Regulated Importers v. Canada, 1994 3460 (FCA), [1994] 2 F.C. 247 (F.C.A.) at 260, 263:
It is not fatal to a policy decision that some irrelevant factors be taken into account; it is only when such a decision is based entirely or predominantly on irrelevant factors that it is impeachable. It is not up to the Court to pass judgment on whether a decision is "wise or unwise"...This Court, because these matters involve "value judgments", is not to "sit as an appellate body determining whether the initiating department made the correct decision."
As this court stated in National Anti-Poverty Organization v. Canada (Attorney General), 1989 9498 (FCA), [1989] 3 F.C. 684 at page 707, "Even if one were to assume that the Governor in Council acted with a dual purpose in mind (one falling within his mandate...and the other falling outside his mandate...) I doubt that this could advance the respondents' case." For, as the Supreme Court of Canada has explained, "Governments do not publish reasons for their decisions; governments may be moved by any number of political, economic, social or partisan considerations." (See Thorne's Hardware Ltd. v. The Queen, supra at 112-113.)
In conclusion, there is ample evidence in the record to support the decision made by the Minister to adopt the system he did. In doing so he relied on relevant factors. This is not to say that the evidence demonstrated that he necessarily made the right decision. That is not the standard of review that we must apply. Indeed, even if it could be shown that he may have made the wrong decision, this Court would have no business interfering with it in these circumstances.
- [38] This judicial deference was applied and reinforced by this court in TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. v. Beardmore (Township) (2000), 2000 5713 (ON CA), 186 D.L.R (4th) 403 (Ont. C.A.), application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed [2000] S.C.C.A. No. 264, where the court held:
[I]t was not open to the respondents, by way of judicial review, to challenge the proposal on its merits. Whether a particular restructuring proposal is or is not “timely and efficient”, or is or is not consistent with “the greatest good of society”, do not represent questions of law answerable on judicial review. These are policy issues that the legislature intended the commission, not the court, to decide...Indeed, with respect, the court had no institutional expertise in arriving at political, economic and social compromises...
(See also East Luther Grand Valley v. Ontario (2000), 2000 22361 (ON SC), 48 O.R. (3d) 247 at 254 (S.C.J.), appeal to the Divisional Court dismissed [1996] O.J. No. 511, and Masse v. Ontario (1996), 1996 12491 (ON SCDC), 134 D.L.R. (4th) 20 at 36-7 (Ont. Div. Ct.), application for leave to appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed (1996), 89 O.A.C. 81, application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed (1996), 97 O.A.C. 240.)
[39] Even if the Regulation was influenced by the views of the Premier, the Regulation is a decision of Cabinet, not of the Premier or any individual minister. A minister opposed to such a decision may wish to resign, but as Sir Ivor Jennings pointed out in Cabinet Government 3rd. ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1963) at pp. 278-279:
If a minister does not resign he is ‘responsible’ . . . From the minister’s point of view it means only that he must vote with the Government, speak in defence of it if the Prime Minister insists, and that he cannot afterwards reject criticism of his act, either in Parliament or in the constituencies, on the ground that he did not agree with the decision.
- [40] Therefore, even if the Premier had directed the Minister to enact the regulation, it represents no justiciable error for the Minister to comply.
(b) Whether the Minister took Extraneous Factors into Account
- [41] As for the argument that the minister lost jurisdiction by considering extraneous factors, namely ethical and humane hunting practices and political expediency, I start with the observation that the judicial review of regulations, as opposed to administrative decisions, is usually restricted to the grounds that they are inconsistent with the purpose of the statute or that some condition precedent in the statute has not been observed. The motives for their promulgation are irrelevant. This guiding principle is set out in Reference Re: Validity of Regulations in Relation to Chemicals 1943 1 (SCC), [1943] S.C.R. 1 at 12:
[W]hen Regulations have been passed by the Governor General in Council in professed fulfilment of his statutory duty, I cannot agree that it is competent to any court to canvass the considerations which have, or may have, led him to deem such Regulations necessary or advisable for the transcendent objects set forth.
- (See also Brown and Evans, Judicial Review of Administrative Action in Canada, (1998), at paras.12:4441 and 12:4443.)
(i) Ethical and Humane Hunting Practices
[42] The regulation was passed pursuant to s. 113(1) of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, which gives the Minister authority to “make regulations prescribing open seasons or closed seasons for wildlife.”
[43] Regulation 670/98 established the open season for wildlife. Prior to March 4, 1999, the regulation prescribed a spring open season for black bears from April 15 to June 15 or 30, and a fall open season for black bear hunting from September 1 to October 15 or 31. Black bears were the only large game animals for which a spring hunting season was permitted.
[44] The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act received Royal Assent on December 18, 1997 and was proclaimed on January 1, 1999. It was enacted to provide a scheme of wildlife conservation and management including the establishment of ethical, humane and responsible hunting practices. The Act assigns to the government the responsibility for balancing the interests of people against the welfare of animals to determine what constitutes humane treatment or the unnecessary suffering of animals.
[45] Concerns regarding animal welfare, including humane and ethical hunting practices, fall squarely within the policy and objectives of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. This is accomplished by the Ministry of Natural Resources regulating the conduct of hunters. Section 6(1)(a) of the Act, for example, states that “except under the authority of a license and in accordance with the regulations, a person shall not hunt or trap a black bear …”.
[46] The basis for the regulation cancelling the spring bear hunt, as explained by the Ministry at the time, was “a growing concern from Ontario’s citizens that the hunting of bears in the spring could lead to orphaning of young cubs at a time when mortality of those cubs would be very high. The Minister is of the view that it is inappropriate to hunt big game animals in the spring when the young are very dependent.”
[47] The evidence supports his concerns. The statistics and methodology for the killing of the bears was described by the Crown in its factum as follows:
Between 1990 and 1997, approximately 4,100 black bears per year were killed during the spring hunting season. Approximately 30% (1230) were females, and approximately 492 of the females were over 5 years of age. Ninety-eight per cent of the bears were hunted at bait sites, where the hunters remain hidden approximately 15 to 20 meters from the bait, and wait for the bears to approach the bait site. Up to 274 bear cubs per year may be orphaned during the spring hunting season, with the likely numbers being in the range of 20 to 90. Issues relating to black bear hunting, including the potential for orphaning cubs in the spring, have engendered controversy in Ontario for a number of years, and there was growing public concern over the issue in the period leading up to the cancellation decision.
- [48] The stated purpose for closing the spring bear hunt, namely, to prevent the mistaken shooting of nursing mothers of newly born cubs that would starve to death if orphaned by the hunt, is therefore consistent with the purposes of, and authorized by, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. It was therefore not beyond the Minister’s jurisdiction to take ethical or humane hunting practices into account in cancelling the spring hunt.
(ii) Political Expediency
[49] The wisdom of government policy through regulations is not a justiciable issue unless it can be demonstrated that the regulation was made without authority or raises constitutional issues. Neither is the case here. (See ‘Challenging Government Policy’, Sara Blake, presented on October 20, 2000 to the Canadian Bar Association Ontario Continuing Legal Education Meeting; A & L Investments Ltd. et al. v. The Queen (1997), 1997 3115 (ON CA), 36 O.R. (3d) 127 at 134-135 (C.A.), application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed (1998), S.C.C. File No. 26395; Cosyns v. Canada (Attorney General) (1992), 1992 8529 (ON SCDC), 7 O.R. (3d) 641 at 655-656 (Div. Ct.); Gustavson Drilling (1964) Ltd. v. M.N.R., 1975 4 (SCC), [1977] 1 S.C.R. 271 at 282-283.)
[50] The majority in the Divisional Court said that the proposed examination was justified by the allegation that the government changed its policy based on political expediency rather than as a response to public concerns. With respect, it seems to me that there is no discernible difference between the two. There is nothing inappropriate, let alone unlawful, about the government consulting with and considering the public’s reaction to a policy measure. To be politically expedient is to be politically responsive to selected and discrete public concerns. That is what governments do.
[51] In any event, it is irrelevant whether the Premier and/or the Minister were influenced by political expediency, this being a consideration which is an accepted, expected, and legitimate aspect of the political process. Whether one characterizes taking public opinion into account as political expediency or political reality, taking it into account is a valid function of political decision making.
[52] Similarly, attempting to influence the government to change a practice, as OFAH, NOTO, and Robert Schad did, is an accepted feature of our system of government. Where the result of the influence is a regulation, it is the regulation itself, not the motives of the people who enacted it, which is relevant.
[53] Governments are motivated to make regulations by political, economic, social or partisan considerations. These motives, even when known, are irrelevant to whether the regulation is valid.
[54] When the government takes political or partisan considerations into account, therefore, this does not, by itself, give rise to an inference of impropriety. Such an inference is, in any event, an ironic allegation from OFAH, since what it is seeking is the government’s compliance with its opinion, the very result it challenges in asserting that the government inappropriately responded to the opinions of Mr. Schad.
[55] Nor does the fact that the government may have changed its mind provide a basis for permitting cross-examination, since such changes are neither impermissible nor unusual. The fact that the Minster asked his Deputy to hold meetings with major stakeholders in October of 1998 in an attempt to find common ground for changes to the spring black bear hunt, shows, in any event, that changes to the existing policy were being considered by the Minister at that time. His December 17, 1998 letter indicates that the potential for cub orphaning in the spring hunt was a concern of the government. The change of policy was a decision to address the concern by attempting to eliminate rather than merely reduce the orphaning. As the Minister said on January 15 1999, “we have reviewed current practices and considered modifications; but none provide assurances these young bears and their mothers would be protected as they emerged from their dens in the Spring”.
Conclusion
[56] While I concede that Ministers of the Crown are not immune from testifying under rule 39.03, in my view there is no justiciable issue raised by the evidence in this case as to the validity of the Regulation. It was made, according to the record, within and under the relevant legislation and based on proper factors. Nor is there any reasonable evidentiary basis for concluding that the evidence sought to be obtained from the proposed examinations is relevant. Instead of the requisite evidence, what is offered is speculation and allegations, neither of which, even if true, gives rise to a valid challenge to the regulation.
[57] Moreover, in Re: Canada Metal Co. Ltd. et. al v. Heap et. al (1975), 1975 675 (ON CA), 7 O.R. (2nd) 185 (C.A.), this court held that the test is not only whether the evidence is relevant to an issue in dispute, but also whether the right to examine would be an abuse of process, which includes considering whether the underlying application has merit. There is, with respect, no merit in the underlying application in this case. No justiciable constitutional issues are raised in the underlying application since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms creates no constitutionally protected right to hunt in either s. 2(b) or s. 7. And even if the decision to cancel the spring bear hunt was made unilaterally by the Premier, or if he directed the Minister to cancel the hunt, or if the Minister took political expediency or humane hunting practices into account, none of these facts would provide any justification for setting aside the Regulation.
[58] The Minister was creating public policy through the statutory authority to enact delegated legislation under s. 113(1) of the Act. The regulation is authorized by the enabling legislation and there is therefore no need for an examination of the Minister’s motives or for evidence about whether he agrees with the Premier.
[59] The only recourse for this type of decision, based on the evidence before us, is in the political not the judicial arena. In the absence of a reasonable evidentiary foundation, therefore, permitting the applicants to examine the Premier and the Minister about why the final decision to cancel the spring bear hunt was made, would amount to sanctioning a fishing expedition.
[60] There is therefore no reasonable evidentiary basis to permit the examinations of the Premier or the Minister to proceed.
FRESH EVIDENCE
- [61] The test for the admission of fresh evidence is set out in R. v. Palmer, 1979 8 (SCC), [1980] 1 S.C.R. 759:
(1) The evidence should generally not be admitted if, by due diligence, it could have been adduced at trial provided that this general principle will not be applied as strictly in a criminal case as in civil cases.
(2) The evidence must be relevant in the sense that it bears upon a decisive or potentially decisive issue in the trial.
(3) The evidence must be credible in the sense that it is reasonably capable of belief, and
(4) It must be such that if believed it could reasonably, when taken with the other evidence adduced at trial, be expected to have affected the result.
[62] The fresh evidence is from members of NOTO, which had originally joined in the application for judicial review. Their evidence, compendiously, seeks to elaborate on their understanding of how and why the spring bear hunt was cancelled. In my view, for the following reasons, this evidence does not meet the due diligence, relevance or determinative branches of that test.
[63] The stated purpose of the fresh evidence is to create a foundation for cross-examining the Premier of Ontario and his Minister about the decision-making process and their motivation for passing the Regulation. Since, for reasons stated above, neither the process nor motivations behind the Regulation is relevant or reviewable in this case, the proposed fresh evidence is accordingly irrelevant.
[64] Moreover, the fresh evidence does not meet the threshold for admission for the following additional reasons:
• The fresh evidence, far from “having been discovered”, demonstrates a lack of due diligence. The evidence was known or available by the time the application was brought. The fact that there was some reluctance on the part of the deponents to provide the information previously does not change its character as evidence that could or should have been produced as part of the application record.
• There is nothing in the evidence to support the conclusion that OFAH was not able to obtain co-operation from counsel for NOTO during the period prior to the application. The court still has no evidence from OFAH as to what steps, if any, it took to obtain this fresh evidence before NOTO withdrew from the litigation.
• The fresh evidence consists of allegations, not evidence.
[65] OFAH suggests, without evidentiary support, that NOTO voted to withdraw from the litigation because of government intimidation and that evidence from its members was not previously available.
[66] The evidence demonstrates the contrary, indicating that NOTO’s decision to withdraw from the litigation was based not on any intimidation or coercion, but on the advice of its counsel. His advice was that even if NOTO were successful before the Divisional Court, the government could restart the process and terminate the hunt differently and in accordance with a court’s directions. He also told his client that the court system was not a timely forum for resolving this case and that the better expenditure of funds by NOTO would be on political advocacy.
[67] From April to September 1999, NOTO and OFAH were working together. Even after NOTO withdrew from the litigation, it “encouraged any operators who want to, to continue to help OFAH with their legal challenge”. The deponents of the affidavits submitted as fresh evidence were not previously asked about any information they had by counsel either for OFAH or NOTO. NOTO’s counsel stated in his evidence that he never talked to counsel for OFAH about, and no one from OFAH asked him to interview, any of the NOTO members for any information they had about any pressure put on the Minister by the Premier. But in any event, as previously indicated, such pressure, even had there been evidence of it, is not relevant to determining the validity of this Regulation.
[68] In summary, the fresh evidence does not meet the requirements of the Palmer test for the introduction of fresh evidence. The motion for its introduction is therefore dismissed.
[69] Accordingly, the appeal is allowed, the decision of the Divisional Court is set aside, and the Summons to Witness to the Honourable Mike Harris, Premier of Ontario, and the Notice of Examination to the Honourable John Snobelen, Minister of Natural Resources, are quashed, with costs throughout if sought.
Signed: “R.S. Abella J.A.”
“I agree J.C. MacPherson J.A.”
“I agree Janet Simmons J.A.”
RELEASED: “RSA” APRIL 19, 2002
