Administrative Law Conference 2024


Course Date: November 21, 2024

Full Course Materials
Total: 5h 11min
Total Ethics: 1h
Course Agenda ▼
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:20)
 
Nadia Myerthall — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Alec Guerin — Musqueam Knowledge Keeper, Musqueam Indian Band, Vancouver
Justice Alison M. Latimer — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Kaitlyn Chewka — Lovett Westmacott, Victoria
 
Opening Address (9:20 – 10:05) (virtual presentation)
 
The Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin — Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa
 
Year in Review: Administrative Law in the Supreme Court of Canada (10:05 – 11:10)
 
  • correctness review: clarifying the standard for mixed questions of law and fact
  • the methodology of reasonableness review: understanding what is reasonable and what is not
  • standard of review of regulations: the Katz/Vavilov debate and the content of the record
  • limited rights of appeal and judicial review: where are we now?
  • contemporary challenges and judicial review: the energy transition, emergencies and the environment
Paul Daly — University Research Chair in Administrative Law & Governance, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
 
BREAK (11:10 – 11:20)
 
Year in Review: BC Case Law (11:20 – 12:25)
 
  • recent developments of interest in BC administrative law 
  • as applicable, recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions from the perspective of their implications for BC administrative law
  • topics will include a range of issues, such as procedural considerations on judicial review, procedural fairness and substantive law developments, as well as updates on cases discussed last year
Kaitlyn Chewka — Lovett Westmacott, Victoria
Alandra K. Harlingten — Lovett Westmacott, Victoria
 
NETWORKING LUNCH (provided for in-person registrants) (12:25 – 1:25)
 
UNDRIP Implementation in Administrative Processes and Decision-making (1:25 – 2:10)
 
  • grounding this work in foundational documents 
  • what is your role in implementation
  • creating an UNDRIP compliant process 
  • decision-making consistent with UNDRIP principles
Shawnee Monchalin — Legal Counsel, BC Human Rights Tribunal, Vancouver
Angela Smith-Rockwell — Authorizations Manager, Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Prince George
 
Maybe You Can Fight City Hall, After All: Review of Local Government Bylaws After Vavilov (2:10 – 2:55)
 
  • a review of Supreme Court of Canada decisions, both pre and post-Vavilov, dealing with substantive review of local government bylaws
  • how recent developments in the BC cases highlight unsettled questions in the law
  • whether a 'reasons-first' approach is a useful tool in reviewing bylaws
  • whether the Supreme Court of Canada cases dealing with review of regulations provide any guidance or whether bylaws are different
Marisa Cruickshank — Southern Butler Price, North Vancouver
Nick Falzon — Young Anderson, Vancouver
 
BREAK (2:55 – 3:05)
 
Charter Values in Administrative Decision Making (3:05 – 3:55)
 
  • the most recent guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada in Commission scolaire francophone, 2023 SCC 31
  • what is a Charter value and how is it different from a Charter right?
  • the duty of a decision maker to consider Charter values in exercising administrative discretion
  • when is a Charter value relevant to a discretionary decision?
  • reasonableness review of discretionary decisions that engage Charter values
Justice Karen A. Horsman — BC Court of Appeal, Vancouver
 
Closing Remarks (3:55 – 4:00)
 
Justice Alison M. Latimer — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Kaitlyn Chewka — Lovett Westmacott, Victoria