Sarah Churchill-Joly

Anthony Francis sought a declaration from the Ontario Superior Court that he was entitled to an in-person hearing before the Parole Board of Canada prior to the imposition of a residency condition, alleging a breach of procedural fairness.

The Attorney General of Canada brought a motion to dismiss this application, arguing that the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction over federal tribunals, citing section 18(1)(a) of the Federal Courts Act.

The court, relying on established precedent, found that the Federal Courts Act unequivocally divests the Superior Court of jurisdiction to grant declaratory relief against federal boards, commissions, or tribunals.

Consequently, the Attorney General's motion was granted, and Francis's application was dismissed.

The applicant sought habeas corpus with certiorari in aid to challenge the legality of his detention, specifically his transfer from a minimum security institution to a maximum security prison.

The court found no relief available for his former placement issues, as habeas corpus addresses occurring deprivations of liberty, not denials of additional privileges or past concerns.

However, regarding his current placement, the court determined that the transfer to maximum security was procedurally unfair because Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) failed to provide the applicant with the Security Reclassification Scale Functional Specification (scoring matrix), as required by Commissioner's Directive 710-6 and Section 27(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations.

This failure deprived the applicant of the ability to meaningfully challenge the reclassification, even though the SRS score was overridden.

The court granted the writ, setting aside the Warden's decision and approving the applicant's transfer back to minimum security.