Date: 20081121
Docket: A-377-07
Citation: 2008 FCA 362
CORAM: NADON
J.A.
SHARLOW
J.A.
PELLETIER
J.A.
BETWEEN:
PARRISH & HEIMBECKER
LIMITED
Appellant
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, in Right of
Canada as Represented by the MINISTER
OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD, THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA and
THE CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION
AGENCY
Respondents
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
PELLETIER J.A.
[1]
This is an
appeal from a decision of Mr. Justice Barnes of the Federal Court, reported as Parrish
& Heimbecker Ltd. v. Canada (Minister of Agriculture), 2007 FC 789,
[2007] F.C.J. No. 1032, in which the effect of this Court's decision in Grenier
v. Canada, 2005 FCA 348, [2006] 2 F.C.R. 287 (Grenier), is once
again in issue.
[2]
Parrish
& Heimbecker (P&H) commenced an action in which Her Majesty the Queen
(as represented by the Minister of Agriculture), the Attorney General for Canada and the Canada Food
Inspection Agency (the Agency) are named as respondents. The action arises from
the allegedly unlawful revocation of import permits authorizing P&H to
import wheat from Ukraine into Canada and the subsequent issuance of new import
permits imposing more onerous conditions which made the wheat unfit for the
purpose for which P&H had contracted to sell it to its customers. The
statement of claim alleges that the revocation of the permits and the
subsequent issuance of the new permits were unlawful and caused P&H to
suffer losses. It also alleges that the Agency negligently misrepresented that
the cargo of wheat would be allowed entry to Canada on the terms set out in the original
import permits, that the actions of the Agency amounted to unlawful
interference in P&H's economic relations with its customers, and that the
actions of the Agency amounted to misfeasance in public office. The actions in
question are the revocation and re-issuance of the import permits. Finally, the
statement of claim sets out eight specific allegations of negligence.
[3]
The
revocation of the original permits and the issuance of the revised permits
occurred in December 2002. P&H did not challenge either of those decisions
by way of judicial review at any time prior to issuing its statement of claim
on December 2, 2005. The Agency responded by bringing a motion to strike out P&H's
statement of claim on the basis that the Court had no jurisdiction to entertain
the action so long as the Agency's decisions with respect to the revocation and
re-issuance of the permits were not set aside in proceedings taken pursuant to
section 18 of the Federal Courts Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-7 (the Act).
[4]
The Agency's
motion was heard by Prothonotary Morneau who concluded that, notwithstanding
the absence of a specific claim for a declaration that the decisions in issue
were unlawful, P&H's action constituted a collateral attack on the
lawfulness of those decisions and, as such, was caught by the decision of this
Court in Grenier. The Prothonotary described the effect of Grenier as
follows:
[27] … whenever the
Court is asked to set aside, or declare the unlawfulness of a decision, this is
a challenge that must first be mounted exclusively by way of an application for
judicial review before this Court.
[Parrish
& Heimbecker Ltd. v. Canada (Minister of
Agriculture and Agri-Food), 2006 FC 1102, 303 F.T.R. 21, at para. 27.]
[5]
However,
rather than dismissing P&H's claim outright, the Prothonotary stayed the
action for 30 days to allow P&H to make an application for an extension of
time to bring an application for judicial review and, if the motion for the
extension was granted, extending the stay for so long as the application for
judicial review was pending. If P&H failed to bring a motion for an
extension of time to commence an application for judicial review in the
allotted time, its action would stand dismissed.
[6]
P&H
appealed the Prothonotary's order to the Federal Court and, as insurance
against the possibility of the dismissal of its appeal, also brought a motion
seeking an extension of time to commence an application for judicial review. Relying
on Jazz Air LP v. Toronto Port Authority, 2007 FC 624, 314 F.T.R. 54, the motions judge found that
since the decision under appeal was vital to the final issue in the case, he
was free to consider the matter afresh and exercise his own discretion, even
though no error could be shown in the Prothonotary's exercise of his
discretion.
[7]
In the end
result, the motions judge exercised his discretion as the Prothonotary had
exercised his. He found no error of fact or law in the Prothonotary's reasoning
and concluded that this Court's decision in Grenier compelled the
conclusion reached by the Prothonotary. In short, the motions judge found that P&H
could not claim damages from the alleged wrongful exercise of the Agency's
statutory discretion without first having that decision set aside by means of
an application for judicial review in the Federal Court. He therefore dismissed
the appeal.
[8]
The
motions judge then turned to P&H's request for an extension of time to
commence an application for judicial review. He reviewed the circumstances and
concluded that it was appropriate to grant the extension of time. However, he
declined to make an order "merging" (consolidating) the judicial
review with the action, or ordering that they be heard at the same time. In his
view, this would constitute an "end run" around Grenier.
[9]
P&H
appeals from the motion judge's conclusion that it must first proceed by way of
judicial review of the orders which it alleges are unlawful before it can
proceed with its action in damages. It says in substance that it has made a
choice of remedies, namely that it has chosen not to seek judicial review, but
has instead chosen to proceed with an action for damages incurred because of
the Crown's negligence or misfeasance in its handling of the issue. P&H says
that nothing in section 18 of the Act precludes it from making such a choice.
[10]
It is not
necessary, in order to dispose of this case, to review the jurisprudence
leading to the decision in Grenier since this case falls squarely within
the principle enunciated by the latter. Mr. Grenier, it will be recalled,
was an inmate in a federal correctional establishment who was placed in
administrative segregation as a result of having acted aggressively towards a
staff person by throwing forms at him. In addition, he was sentenced to 14 days
of disciplinary segregation for the same conduct, pursuant to the disciplinary
procedure provided in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, S.C.
1992, c. 20. Grenier did not challenge either of these decisions by
means of an application for judicial review. Some three years later, however,
he commenced an action for damages against the Crown in which he sought damages
arising from his time in segregation.
[11]
Because
the amount claimed in the action was less than $50,000, it was heard by a Prothonotary
as provided in Rule 50(2) of the Federal Courts Rules, SOR/98-106. The Prothonotary
allowed the action and awarded Grenier compensatory damages in the
amount of $3,000 as well as $2,000 in punitive damages. The Prothonotary's
decision was upheld on appeal to the Federal Court.
[12]
On
appeal to this Court, the Prothonotary's decision was set aside on the basis
that an administrative decision, made under the authority of a statute
continues to have effect and is lawfully binding until such time as it is set
aside in proceedings taken for that purpose under section 18 of the Act. In
coming to this conclusion, this Court, speaking through Létourneau J.A.,
qualified its earlier ruling in Zarzour v. Canada, 196 F.T.R. 320, [2000]
F.C.J. No. 2070 (Zarzour), to the effect that judicial review was
necessary only where "the decision giving rise to the
harm is still operative at the time the remedy is sought" and conversely "where
the decision which gave rise to the alleged harm is no longer effective at the
time, it is possible for the applicant to bring an action claiming damages.":
see Grenier, at para. 15. The Court went on to note that, even though
the inmate had served his time in administrative segregation, the decision to
impose segregation had continuing effects in relation to such matters as
parole eligibility and classification. Against that background, the Court
restated the underlying rationale for the exclusive jurisdiction granted to the
Federal Court by section 18 of the Act:
24.
In creating the Federal Court and in enacting
section 18, Parliament sought to put an end to the existing division in the
review of the lawfulness of the decisions made by federal agencies. At the
time, this review was performed by the courts of the provinces: see Patrice
Garant, Droit administratif, 4th ed., vol. 2 (Les Éditions Yvon Blais
Inc., 1996), at pages 11 to 15. Harmonization of disparities in judicial
decisions had to be achieved at the level of the Supreme Court of Canada. In
the interests of justice, equity and efficiency, subject to the exceptions in
section 28, Parliament assigned the exercise of reviewing the lawfulness of the
decisions of federal agencies to a single court, the Federal Court. This review
must be exercised under section 18, and only by filing an application for
judicial review. The Federal Court of Appeal is the court assigned to ensure
harmonization in the case of conflicting decisions, thereby relieving the
Supreme Court of Canada of a substantial volume of work, while reserving it the
option to intervene in those cases that it considers of national interest.
[Grenier,
at para. 24.]
[13]
This case falls squarely within the principle stated in Grenier
and illustrates its underlying rationale. Presumably, P&H could have
brought its claim in any of the provincial superior courts and, on the basis of
the allegations in its pleadings, asked that court to determine the legality of
the revocation of the original permits and the issuance of the replacement
permits. Had another shipper encountered the same problem, it could have chosen
to proceed in another of the provincial superior courts and asked for a
determination of the same issue. Different cases could yield different
conclusions leading to an unravelling of the fabric of consistency in the judicial
review of federal administrative action.
[14]
Grenier, as Barnes J. found, is
dispositive of this case. But before leaving the case, I wish to comment on
another matter which was raised at the hearing of this appeal.
[15]
On its own motion, the Court raised the question of the
effect of section 8 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, R.S.C.
1985, c. C-50 (the CLPA), which is reproduced below, together with
section 3 which is the section which founds P&H's right of action against
the Crown:
3. The
Crown is liable for the damages for which, if it were a person, it would be
liable
(a)
in the Province of Quebec
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3. En
matière de responsabilité, l'État est assimilé à une personne pour :
a)
dans la province de Québec :
|
(i)
the damage caused by the fault of a servant of the Crown, or
(ii)
the damage resulting from the act of a thing in the custody of or owned by
the Crown or by the fault of the Crown as custodian or owner; and
(b)
in any other province, in respect of
(i)
a tort committed by a servant of the Crown, or
(ii) a breach of duty
attaching to the ownership, occupation, possession or control of property.
[…]
8. Nothing in
sections 3 to 7 makes the Crown liable in respect of anything done or omitted
in the exercise of any power or authority that, if those sections had not
been passed, would have been exercisable by virtue of the prerogative of the
Crown, or any power or authority conferred on the Crown by any statute, and,
in particular, but without restricting the generality of the foregoing,
nothing in those sections makes the Crown liable in respect of anything done
or omitted in the exercise of any power or authority exercisable by the
Crown, whether in time of peace or of war, for the purpose of the defence of
Canada or of training, or maintaining the efficiency of, the Canadian Forces.
|
(i) le dommage causé par la faute de ses préposés,
(ii) le dommage causé par le fait des biens qu'il a
sous sa garde ou dont il est propriétaire ou par sa faute à l'un ou l'autre
de ces titres;
b) dans
les autres provinces :
(i) les délits civils commis par ses préposés,
(ii) les manquements
aux obligations liées à la propriété, à l'occupation, à la possession ou à la
garde de biens.
. . .
8. Les
articles 3 à 7 n'ont pas pour effet d'engager la responsabilité de l'État
pour tout fait — acte ou omission — commis dans l'exercice d'un pouvoir qui,
sans ces articles, s'exercerait au titre de la prérogative royale ou d'une
disposition législative, et notamment pour les faits commis dans l'exercice d'un
pouvoir dévolu à l'État, en temps de paix ou de guerre, pour la défense du
Canada, l'instruction des Forces canadiennes ou le maintien de leur
efficacité.
|
[16]
The question put to the parties at the hearing
of the appeal was whether section 8 of the CLPA required that the
Agency's decision be set aside in judicial review proceedings before proceeding
with an action because, otherwise, section 8 would operate as a defence to the
action. Such a reading of section 8 would provide an additional argument for
the result arrived at in Grenier.
[17]
Section 8
of the CLPA was first enacted as subsection 3(6) of the Crown
Liability Act, S.C. 1952-53, c. 30. Given that its
enactment precedes the creation of the Federal Court by approximately 20 years,
it cannot easily be characterized as a constituent part of a scheme to
centralize judicial review of federal institutions in the Federal Court.
[18]
In
addition, this disposition has, for the most part, been ignored in discussions
of Crown liability. To the extent that it has been considered, it has not been given
much scope. In Robitaille v. The Queen,
[1981] 1 F.C. 90 (T.D.) (Robitaille), Marceau J. (as he then was) wrote:
6. The
issue is thus joined in terms of the facts and the general principles of
liability. Defendant nowhere sought to rely on an exclusion of liability to
which she might be entitled under subsection 3(6)
of the said Crown
Liability Act, and she was correct in
not doing so, despite the submissions made by her counsel during the verbal
argument. The immunity conferred by that section only applies inasmuch as the
power exercised is exercised in a normal and reasonable manner, and the whole
point of the action is that this was not true in the case at bar.
[19]
In
one of the first cases, if not the first case, in which subsection 3(6) was
considered by this Court, Baird v. The Queen, [1984] 2 F.C. 160 (Baird),
it was suggested that the disposition applied "… to
statutory powers but not to statutory duties, and further, that it contemplates
power or authority of the Crown itself, such as prerogative power and statutory
authority that should be regarded as conferred on the Crown, as distinct from
that conferred on specific Crown servants chosen to perform a particular
statutory function.": see Baird, at p. 185. No anterior
jurisprudence on the meaning of subsection 3(6) of the Crown Liability Act
was referred to in Baird nor, for that matter, in Robitaille.
[20]
Section 8 of the CLPA has been held by this Court to
apply only to non-negligent acts by crown servants: see Comeau's Sea Foods
Ltd. v. Canada
(Minister of Fisheries and Oceans), [1995] 2 F.C. 467, at para.
49 (C.A.) (Comeau's
Sea Foods Ltd.), and Swanson v. Canada (Minister of Transport), [1992]
1 F.C. 408, at para.29 (C.A.) (Swanson). Comeau's
Sea Foods Ltd. was a case involving the failure to issue fisheries licenses
while Swanson was a case involving the Minister of Transport's
responsibility for aircraft safety.
[21]
It would appear from this that section 8 of the CLPA
is not available as a defence where negligence is alleged against the
Crown, as it has been in this case. But, more importantly, section 8 has never
been successfully raised as a bar to an action claiming damages where there is
an issue of the legality of a decision of a federal board commission or
tribunal. Given its legislative history and its judicial treatment, section 8
is simply not available as an alternate ground for the result arrived at in Grenier.
[22]
P&H also appealed from Barnes J.'s refusal to order that
its judicial review application proceed at the same time as its action on the
ground that this would constitute an "end run" around Grenier.
Since then, this Court decided in Hinton v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration), 2008 FCA 215, [2008] F.C.J. No. 1004 (Hinton), that
a claim for damages could be included in a judicial review which had been
converted to an action pursuant to subsection 18.4(2) of the Act.
[23]
Hinton allows P&H to argue that
there is no impediment to having its action and its application for judicial
review to proceed together since the application for judicial review could be
converted to an action which includes a claim for damages. Since this argument
was not before Barnes J., given that Hinton was decided after Barnes J.
had rendered his decision, we are asked to consider it at first instance.
[24]
In deciding as it did in Hinton, this Court was aware
of the possibility that the conversion of judicial review applications to
actions (including claims for damages) could easily lead to the unwinding of
the Federal Court's exclusive jurisdiction over judicial review: see Hinton,
at para. 51. While that concern is not present here, as there are two separate
proceedings, there remains a need for prudence. It is not at all clear that
actions and applications for judicial review can be consolidated without
indirectly converting the application for judicial review into an action. If
that is true of a consolidation, the fact of hearing them together may lead to
the same practical result. Given the history of these proceedings and the
centrality of the issue of the lawfulness of the decisions taken by the Agency,
it is appropriate that the application for judicial review proceed to its
conclusion before the action resumes. This is consistent with the caveat
registered by this Court in Hinton at paragraph 54.
[25]
In the end result, I would dismiss the appeal with costs.
"J.D.
Denis Pelletier"
NADON J.A. CONCURRING
[26]
I have
read, in draft, the Reasons of my colleagues Sharlow J.A. and Pelletier. J.A.
For the reasons which Pelletier J.A. gives, I am of the opinion that the appeal
ought to be dismissed with costs. I would, however, add the following.
[27]
I
recognize the strength of Sharlow J.A.'s opinion that on her reading of section
18(1) of the Federal Courts Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-7, the broad view
adopted by this Court in Grenier v. Canada, 2005 FCA 348, [2006] 2 FCR
87, i.e. that the determination of the lawfulness of decisions rendered by a "federal
board, commission or other tribunal" must always be made by way of
judicial review, cannot be correct. However, it is my view that it is not open
to us to revisit Grenier, supra.
[28]
First, in Hinton
v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 FCA 215, 2008
F.C.J. No. 1004 (Q.L.) and in Nu-Pharm Inc. v. H.M.Q. et al, 2008 FCA
227, we recently reiterated the principles set out in Grenier, supra.
[29]
Second, it
cannot be said that Grenier, supra, "is manifestly wrong, in the
sense that the Court overlooked a relevant statutory provision or a case that
ought to have been followed" (see Miller v. Canada (A.G.), 2002 FCA
370, at paragraphs 8, 9 and 10). Although Sharlow J.A. does not expressly refer
to Miller, supra, she appears to have concluded that it is open to us to
overrule Grenier, supra, because of the parties' failure in that case to
refer the panel to the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, R.S.C. 1985,
c. 50 (the Act).
[30]
With
respect, I cannot agree with that view. As Pelletier J.A. demonstrates at
paragraphs 15 to 21 of his Reasons, even if the parties in Grenier, supra,
had specifically referred the panel to the Act, the conclusion reached in that
case and the principles enunciated by the Court would not have been different.
[31]
I would
therefore dismiss the appeal with costs.
"M. Nadon"
SHARLOW J.A. (DISSENTING REASONS)
[32]
I have
read in draft the reasons of my colleague Justice Pelletier. I regret that I am
unable to agree with him.
[33]
The
appellant alleges in its statement of claim that the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA) granted the appellant an import permit for wheat from Ukraine and
then, without communicating any reasons, revoked the permit when it was too
late for the appellant to mitigate the resulting loss, and then issued new
permits which arbitrarily imposed new conditions that caused the appellant
further loss. The appellant also alleges that certain acts taken by the CFIA,
including the revocation of the import permit, were unlawful in the sense that
they were made without statutory authority. At this preliminary stage, these
allegations must be assumed to be true.
[34]
The
statutory foundation of the appellant's right to assert a claim for damages
against the Crown is the section 3 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings
Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 50, which reads as follows:
3. The Crown is liable for the
damages for which, if it were a person, it would be liable
(a) in the Province of
Quebec, in respect of
(i) the damage caused by
the fault of a servant of the Crown, or
(ii) the damage resulting
from the act of a thing in the custody of or owned by the Crown or by the
fault of the Crown as custodian or owner; and
(b) in any other province, in respect of
(i) a tort committed by a
servant of the Crown, or
(ii) a breach of duty
attaching to the ownership, occupation, possession or control of property.
|
3. En matière de responsabilité, l'État est assimilé à une personne pour
:
a) dans la province de Québec :
(i) le dommage causé par la faute de ses préposés,
(ii) le dommage causé par le fait des biens qu'il a
sous sa garde ou dont il est propriétaire ou par sa faute à l'un ou l'autre
de ces titres;
b) dans les autres provinces :
(i) les délits civils commis par ses préposés,
(ii) les manquements aux obligations liées à la
propriété, à l'occupation, à la possession ou à la garde de biens.
|
[35]
By the combined
operation of section 21 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act and
section 17 of the Federal Courts Act, a person asserting a claim for
damages against the Crown may proceed either in the Federal Court or in the
superior court of the province in which the claim arose. In this case the
appellant commenced its action in the Federal Court.
[36]
Section 8 of the Crown
Liability and Proceedings Act addresses the situation where a claim for
damages against the Crown is based in whole or in part on an allegation that
the damages were caused by the wrongful exercise of a statutory power. The
appellant has made such an allegation in this case (paragraph 14 of the
statement of claim). Section 8 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act
reads in relevant part as follows:
8. Nothing
in sections 3 to 7 makes the Crown liable in respect of anything done or
omitted in the exercise of any power or authority that, if those sections had
not been passed, would have been exercisable by virtue of the prerogative of
the Crown, or any power or authority conferred on the Crown by any statute
[…].
|
8. Les
articles 3 à 7 n'ont pas pour effet d'engager la responsabilité de l'État
pour tout fait — acte ou omission — commis dans l'exercice d'un pouvoir qui,
sans ces articles, s'exercerait au titre de la prérogative royale ou d'une
disposition législative […].
|
[37]
The meaning and scope
of section 8 of the Crown
Liability and Proceedings Act may well be the subject of debate. However, for the
purposes of this appeal I
assume, without deciding, that section 8 is intended, at least, to give the
Crown a defence to any claim for damages resulting from the valid exercise of statutory authority (absent
proof of negligence). The question that arises in this case is who is to
determine, in the first instance, whether the exercise of statutory authority
is valid. The Crown argues that this question necessarily must be answered in
an application for judicial review. The appellant argues that, having asserted
a claim against the Crown for damages, and having included in the statement of
claim allegations that are intended to defeat the Crown's inevitable defence
under section 8 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, it is
entitled to have the issue of the validity of the exercise of the Crown's
statutory authority determined at trial.
[38]
If the
Crown is correct, the appellant must in effect bring two separate proceedings
governed by two different limitation periods and two sets of procedural rules.
An application for judicial review to challenge the decision of a federal
agency or official must be brought in either the Federal Court or the Federal
Court of Appeal within 30 days and must be determined on the basis of affidavit
evidence, subject to a court order extending the time or permitting oral
evidence at the hearing. In contrast, an action for damages may be brought in
either the Federal Court or the superior court of a province, is subject to a
longer limitation period (generally either two years or six years), and is
determined by a trial preceded by discovery proceedings.
[39]
In my
view, the Crown's position is not consistent with the statutory scheme that
governs claims for damages against the Crown. The fact that the defence of
statutory authority is part of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act suggests
that Parliament contemplated that the task of assessing the validity of such a
decision could be undertaken in the course of determining the claim for
damages.
[40]
The
position of the Crown, and the basis for its motion in Federal Court to dismiss
or stay the appellant's action for damages, is that the validity of the
decisions of the CFIA that are at the root of the appellant's claim, and thus
the availability of the section 8 defence, must be assessed as a matter of
public law under the statutory procedure governing applications for judicial
review.
[41]
Justice
Barnes accepted the Crown's argument because of the decision of this Court in Grenier
v. Canada, 2005 FCA 348. As I read Grenier, it establishes that
where a claim is made against the Crown for damages allegedly caused by an
unlawful decision of a "federal board, commission or other tribunal"
(as defined in the Federal Courts Act), the claim will necessarily fail
unless the decision is quashed or declared invalid upon an application for judicial
review of the decision pursuant to the Federal Courts Act.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the Court in Grenier was not referred
to the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act. As a result, the Grenier
principle was developed without taking into account certain aspects of the
statutory scheme governing federal Crown litigation that in my view cast doubt
on the Grenier analysis.
[42]
Clearly
the CFIA is a "federal board, commission or other tribunal" as
defined in the Federal Courts Act. A decision of the CFIA to issue or
revoke an import permit, or to impose conditions on an import permit, may be
challenged in the Federal Court by way of an application for judicial review
pursuant to the Federal Courts Act. If such a challenge is made, the
Federal Court may quash the decision or declare it to be unlawful. However, Grenier
says that the determination of the lawfulness of those decisions can be
determined only by way of judicial review under the Federal Courts
Act. That premise is based on an interpretation of the section 18 of the Federal
Courts Act that I am unable to accept.
[43]
Section 18
of the Federal Courts Act reads in relevant part as follows:
18.(1) […] the Federal Court has exclusive original
jurisdiction
(a) to issue an injunction, writ of certiorari,
writ of prohibition, writ of mandamus or writ of quo
warranto, or grant declaratory
relief, against any federal board, commission or other tribunal; and
(b) to hear and determine any application or other
proceeding for relief in the nature of relief contemplated by paragraph (a), including any proceeding brought against the
Attorney General of Canada, to obtain relief against a federal board,
commission or other tribunal.
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18.(1)
[…] la Cour fédérale a compétence exclusive, en première instance,
pour :
a) décerner une injonction, un bref de certiorari, de mandamus, de prohibition ou de quo warranto, ou pour rendre un jugement déclaratoire contre
tout office fédéral;
b) connaître de toute demande de réparation de la
nature visée par l'alinéa a), et notamment de toute procédure engagée contre le procureur
général du Canada afin d'obtenir réparation de la part d'un office fédéral.
|
[…]
|
[…]
|
(3) The remedies provided for in subsections (1) and
(2) may be obtained only on an application for judicial review made under
section 18.1.
|
(3) Les recours prévus aux paragraphes (1)
ou (2) sont exercés par présentation d'une demande de contrôle judiciaire.
|
[44]
Subsection 18(1) of
the Federal Courts Act gives the Federal Court the exclusive
jurisdiction to grant the traditional public law remedies against any "federal
board, commission or other tribunal" (subject to an exception, not
relevant in this case, for certain matters that are within the exclusive
jurisdiction of this Court). Subsection 18(3) requires the listed public law
remedies to be granted by the Federal Court only upon an application for
judicial review. However, section 18 does not say or necessarily imply that a
dispute as to the validity of the exercise of statutory authority by a "federal
board, commission or other tribunal" cannot be determined in the course of
a trial governed by the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.
[45]
According to the
analysis presented in Grenier, the purpose of section 18 is to assign to
the Federal Court alone the task of reviewing the lawfulness of decisions of
federal agencies (see Grenier, paragraph 24), so as to avoid the problem
of inconsistent decisions from different jurisdictions and perhaps also to give
the Crown the further protection of a very short limitation period. Perhaps
these are the objectives of section 18, but the language of subsection 18(1) is
somewhat narrower. It is significant, in my view, that the exclusive original
jurisdiction of the Federal Court in subsection 18(1) is described by reference
to particular judicial remedies and not by reference to the nature of
the decisions that might be challenged.
[46]
Further, it seems to
me that the correct interpretation of subsection 18(1) must be informed by the
manifest intention of Parliament that parties asserting a claim for damages for
damages are entitled assert their claim in an action, and to do so in either
the Federal Court or the superior court of a province.
[47]
In my view, this
Court should not require the commencement of multiple proceedings to resolve a
claim for damages in every case where the legality of the decision of a federal
agency is the basis of the claim, unless compelled by explicit statutory
language to do so. I am unable to read subsection 18(1) of the Federal
Courts Act as sufficiently explicit for that purpose.
[48]
The decision in Grenier
was also based on the notion that, if the legality of federal decisions can be
determined in the course of an action, the Crown may be deprived of the
advantage of the 30 day time limit for the commencement of an application for
judicial review. I agree that the finality of administrative decisions is in
the public interest, and I also recognize that there is some potential for
undue prejudice against the Crown if a claimant is permitted to use the device
of an action for damages to avoid the 30 day limitation period applicable to
applications for judicial review.
[49]
However, these are
not considerations that justify the interpretation of section 18 that was
adopted in Grenier. Rather, they are considerations that will come into
play in cases if the Federal Court (or the superior court of a province) is
asked to determine whether the commencement of a particular action is an abuse
of process in the sense, for example, that the claimant is engaged in a
collateral attack on a final administrative decision, or that the claimant is
attempting to claim the practical benefit of a public remedy for an
administrative decision without observing the applicable procedural
limitations. I understand that to be the situation in Canada v. Tremblay
(F.C.A.), [2004] 4 F.C.R. 165. In that case, a person seeking reinstatement
to a position terminated by virtue of a mandatory retirement law was not
permitted to proceed with a claim for damages for the wrongful termination
without first taking appropriate steps to have the termination declared
invalid. While I do not accept all of the reasoning in that case, the result is
reasonable based on the particular facts of the case.
[50]
In this case there is
no evidence, and the Crown has not suggested, that the appellant is not
asserting a bona fide claim for damages. It is clear from the record
that the appellant has
no interest in seeking a public law remedy because it would derive no practical
advantage from any judicial remedy except an award of damages. Nor has the Crown alleged that the
appellant is seeking to achieve indirectly what it cannot achieve directly
because of a missed limitation period. The decisions made by the CFIA that the
appellant claims are unlawful were respected. They are now spent and have no
continuing effect. No one except the appellant has an interest in those
decisions. If they are found to be invalid, no one will be affected except the
parties to this litigation. The Crown's interest in the integrity of the
administration of the import permit regime is amply protected by section 8 of
the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.
[51]
For these
reasons, I would allow this appeal with costs, set aside the decisions of the
Federal Court and the Prothonotary, and dismiss the motion of the Crown for an
order dismissing or staying the action, with costs in the cause.
"K. Sharlow"