Victoria C. Yankou

Following the court’s earlier decision declining to certify a proposed class proceeding, the parties addressed the issue of costs for the certification motion.

The plaintiffs had received funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario, which indemnified them against adverse cost awards.

The parties and the Law Foundation agreed that the costs of the certification motion would be payable to the defendant.

The court issued an endorsement reflecting the parties’ consent that costs be paid to the defendant in the amount of $50,000 inclusive of taxes and disbursements.

The applicant unions brought an application seeking a declaration that the Expenditure Restraint Act is unconstitutional and of no force and effect, arguing it violated their members' freedom of association under s. 2(d) of the Charter by rolling back and capping wage increases.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, finding that the legislation did not substantially interfere with the freedom of association, as it applied broadly across the federal public sector and did not target associational activities.

The court further held that even if there was a breach of s. 2(d), it would be saved under s. 1 of the Charter as a demonstrably justified response to the 2008 global economic crisis.

The applicants sought judicial review of an interlocutory decision by the Coroner refusing to issue a summons for the production of videos depicting interactions between correctional staff and the deceased, Ashley Smith.

The Divisional Court found that the Coroner applied an incorrect and overly stringent test by requiring a demonstrated 'nexus' between the videos and the death, rather than assessing whether the evidence was 'material' to the purposes of the inquest.

The Court quashed the Coroner's decision and remitted the issue for reconsideration, holding that the denial of access to potentially relevant evidence constituted a breach of natural justice.

During a judicial review application challenging a coroner's decision not to compel the advance production of tapes for an inquest, an issue arose regarding access to information on USB keys.

The Divisional Court ruled that there was no formal motion before the court regarding media access.

Furthermore, the court determined it did not need to access the information on the USB keys at that time, as the parties had already accessed the information and referred to it in their materials without apparent prejudice.

The appellant insurer sought a declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify the respondent insured, a gas bar operator, against a claim for environmental contamination caused by a gasoline leak.

The application judge dismissed the application, finding the insured was not an 'active industrial polluter' and the claim sounded in negligence.

The Court of Appeal allowed the insurer's appeal, holding that the pollution exclusion clause unambiguously applied to the known risk of pollution from operating a gas station, and was not limited to active industrial polluters.