Administrative Law - ODC

The self-represented applicant moved to set aside a final panel decision of the Divisional Court that had dismissed his application to halt pediatric COVID-19 vaccinations.

The applicant alleged that newly discovered evidence showed the Chief Medical Officer of Health had an undisclosed conflict of interest involving Pfizer, which amounted to fraud.

The court dismissed the motion under Rule 2.1 as frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of process, finding that the fresh evidence would not affect the core findings that the applicant lacked standing and failed to plead an arguable claim.

The applicant failed to contact court staff to arrange a case management teleconference by the court-ordered deadline.

As a result, the application was dismissed as abandoned, without costs.

The appellants, former senior executives of Sino-Forest Corporation, appealed the Ontario Securities Commission's decisions finding they engaged in a massive securities fraud and imposing significant sanctions, including disgorgement and administrative penalties.

The appellants argued the Commission failed to account for Chinese business and cultural practices (guanxi) when determining their intent to defraud, alleged a reasonable apprehension of bias by the panel chair, and challenged the sanctions as excessive.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that Ontario securities law overrides cultural practices for reporting issuers, the bias claim was unfounded, and the sanctions were reasonable given the enormity of the fraud and the need for deterrence.

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Director's Delegate of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, which had overturned an arbitrator's award of income replacement benefits.

The arbitrator had applied a 'material contribution' test for causation.

The Director's Delegate correctly held that the 'but for' test was the proper standard but erred in his explanation of how the test applies.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application for judicial review and upheld the order remitting the matter to a new arbitrator to apply the correct legal test for causation.

The appellants appealed a merits decision and a sanctions decision of the Ontario Securities Commission.

The Commission had found that a set of contracts marketed as a tax planning vehicle constituted an 'investment contract' and therefore a 'security' under the Securities Act.

The Commission concluded that the appellants breached the Act by selling these securities without being registered and without filing a prospectus, imposing trading bans, administrative penalties, and costs.

The Divisional Court applied a reasonableness standard of review and dismissed the appeal, finding that the Commission's application of the test for an investment contract was reasonable and that the sanctions imposed were proportionate and justified.

The appellant physician appealed decisions of the Discipline Committee finding him guilty of professional misconduct and revoking his certificate of registration.

The Committee found that the appellant had deliberately overbilled patients for laser eye surgery and directed staff to alter medical records to conceal the overbilling.

On appeal, the appellant argued the Committee misapprehended the evidence, reversed the burden of proof, and imposed an unreasonable penalty.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the Committee's credibility findings and weighing of the evidence were reasonable and entitled to deference.

The penalty of revocation was also upheld as reasonable given the premeditated nature of the fraud and the need for public protection.

The applicant employer brought a motion before a single judge of the Divisional Court for an order in the nature of certiorari to quash an interlocutory decision of the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The respondent union consented to the order, but the Board opposed it.

The single judge determined she lacked jurisdiction to grant a final order quashing the decision, as such relief must be granted by a three-judge panel of the Divisional Court under the Judicial Review Procedure Act and the Courts of Justice Act.

The court also noted that quashing an administrative decision requires a review of the merits, even on consent.

The motion was adjourned to a full panel.

The moving party sought leave to admit an affidavit on its pending motion for leave to appeal.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the points raised in the affidavit regarding the public importance of the issues could be made by counsel without the affidavit, that other municipalities had already been granted leave to intervene, and that the remaining aspects of the affidavit contained inadmissible opinion evidence.

Costs of $5,000 were awarded to the responding parties.

The Town of Richmond Hill sought leave to appeal an Ontario Municipal Board decision imposing a cap on the alternative requirement for parkland dedication under s. 42(3) of the Planning Act.

Several other municipalities sought leave to intervene in the motion for leave to appeal and the appeal itself, arguing the Board's decision could impact their own parkland dedication policies.

The Divisional Court granted the motions to intervene, finding the issue transcended the immediate parties and the proposed interveners could offer distinct and useful perspectives on an issue of public importance.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an arbitration board's decision that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a policy grievance regarding probationary faculty workload.

The union argued the board's reasons were inadequate and incomprehensible.

The Divisional Court agreed, finding the board failed to engage with the union's arguments or explain its conclusion regarding the collective agreement's exception for policy grievances.

The application for judicial review was granted, the arbitration award was quashed, and the matter was remitted to a differently constituted board.

The applicant sought judicial review of three Social Benefits Tribunal decisions regarding Ontario Works overpayments and cancellation of assistance.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, noting that the applicant had already appealed one decision unsuccessfully, had prior civil actions regarding the other decisions dismissed, failed to pursue her statutory right of appeal within the required time, and raised questions of fact rather than law.

The Service Employees International Union applied for judicial review of an interest arbitration award that imposed a zero salary increase for the first two years of a collective agreement with 98 nursing homes.

The union argued the arbitrator unreasonably ignored the employers' ability to pay, mischaracterized Ontario's economy, and relied on inappropriate comparable settlements.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the arbitrator's application of the statutory criteria under the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act and his ultimate award were reasonable and entitled to a high degree of deference.

Following the dismissal of the appellant's appeal, the Ontario Securities Commission sought costs.

The Divisional Court awarded the Commission costs of the appeal fixed at $20,000 on a partial indemnity basis, finding no issue of broad public interest or misconduct by staff during settlement negotiations that would warrant denying costs.

The applicants sought judicial review of a decision by the Ontario Racing Commission, which upheld a private racetrack's decision to suspend the applicant owner's racing and stabling privileges following the death of a 13-year-old racehorse during training.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the Commission had jurisdiction to determine whether the public interest warranted interfering with the racetrack's private property rights.

The Court held that the Commission's decision was procedurally fair and reasonable, as the evidence supported the finding that the applicant failed to take reasonable precautions regarding the horse's fitness.

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The Board had dismissed ten applications for certification by the respondent union, finding it was not a construction industry trade union under s. 126(1) of the Labour Relations Act.

The Board also made obiter comments regarding s. 15 of the Act.

Because the applicant was successful before the Board in having the certification applications dismissed, the Divisional Court found the application for judicial review to be moot.

Applying the Borowski factors, the Court declined to hear the application, noting there is no public interest in reviewing obiter comments that did not form the ratio of the Board's decision.

The application was dismissed with costs.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that upheld an employment standards officer's refusal to issue an order for unpaid wages.

The applicant claimed he was owed wages paid 'in kind' by a company owned by his mother.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the appropriate standard of review was reasonableness.

The court held that the OLRB's findings—that the applicant was not an employee during the relevant period and had not established a wage rate—were reasonable and supported by the evidence.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision upholding the assignment of certain I-beam installation work to a rival union.

The applicant argued the Board breached procedural fairness by failing to consider twenty drawings submitted with its reply.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board had considered the drawings and its decision was not patently unreasonable.

The applicants sought an order in the nature of certiorari to intervene in an ongoing Ontario Human Rights Tribunal hearing regarding the implementation of remedial orders for workplace discrimination.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application as premature, reiterating that courts should not intervene in ongoing administrative proceedings absent unusual circumstances.

The court found no such circumstances, noting the applicants' interests were aligned with the Ministry, which was already a party, and emphasizing the chaotic consequences of granting party standing to every non-party whose conduct is raised in evidence.

The applicant, operator of the Highway 407 toll road, sought an order of mandamus compelling the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to refuse to validate or issue vehicle permits for individuals who failed to pay tolls.

The Registrar had refused to act, arguing that he had a duty to ensure the applicant complied with the statutory scheme and that individuals were not wrongly denied plate renewals.

The Divisional Court granted the application, finding that the Highway 407 Act imposes a mandatory duty on the Registrar to deny permits upon receiving notice of non-payment.

The court held that the Registrar has no discretion or oversight role to look behind the notices or compliance certificates, and declined to exercise its residual discretion to refuse mandamus.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Assessment Review Board regarding the property tax assessments for a shopping mall for the 1996 and 1997 taxation years.

The appellant argued the Board erred by failing to use a recent arm's length sale price as the best evidence of market value, and by applying a 'current value' approach rather than a 'market value' approach.

The Divisional Court held that the Board's treatment of the recent sale was a question of mixed fact and law and thus not appealable.

However, the Court found the Board erred in law by applying a 'current value' (unencumbered fee simple) approach, which was introduced by 1997 amendments not applicable to the years in question.

The appeal was allowed and the matter remitted to the Board for redetermination based on the correct 'market value' test.