Les Aliments Prince Foods Inc. v. Canada (Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food), 2002 FCT 67

                                                                                                                                            Date: 20020121

                                                                                                                                       Docket: T-1817-98

Neutral citation: 2002 FCT 67

Montréal, Quebec, January 21, 2002

Present:           Mr. Richard Morneau, Prothonotary

BETWEEN:

LES ALIMENTS PRINCE FOODS INC.

Applicant

and

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND

AGRI-FOOD CANADA

Respondent

and

BERNARD DRAINVILLE

Respondent

Motion by the respondent Bernard Drainville to have the application for judicial review dismissed.

REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER

MR. RICHARD MORNEAU, PROTHONOTARY:

[1]         On September 17, 1998, the applicant filed an application under section 18(1) of the Federal Court Act and section 44 of the Access to Information Act (the Act), for judicial review of the decision of Ms. Denise Brennan, the Access to Information and Privacy service officer, authorizing the disclosure of records including the one that is the subject matter of this litigation.

[2]         In support of its motion, the applicant filed the affidavit of Mr. Marcel Héroux to which were appended various documents including the report sought by the access request.

[3]         However, it appears from the evidence that, before filing this affidavit with the inspection report appended, the applicant never asked for an order of this Court that it be kept confidential pursuant to section 47 of the Act and Rules 151 and 152 of the Federal Court Rules, 1998 (the Rules).

[4]         It is therefore completely arguable that the said report has been part of the public record for more than three years, since the Court file containing this report has been accessible to the public for consultation since that date, under Rule 26. Moreover, that is in fact how the respondent Drainville procured a copy of the report.

[5]         Now, it is impossible for the Court, in the very limited framework of the remedies it may grant under section 44 of the Act, to remedy or alter this situation a posteriori. Under section 44, the Court may simply render an order upholding or invalidating the decision of the government institution to disclose the record in question.

[6]         Furthermore, in this case I do not think I am faced with such exceptional circumstances that the well-established principle that the courts do not issue moot decisions should be set aside. Indeed, as the respondent Drainville notes at paragraph 4 of his motion record:

[Translation] ... the courts have more than once had occasion to analyze the statutory provisions relevant to this litigation. Moreover, the questions of law raised in this case, including the question of "reading down and the underlying constitutional issue", which the applicant discusses to a large extent in its motion record, will not remain unresolved, since they will soon be analyzed by this Honourable Court in dockets T-2292-98, T-2291-98 and T-2294-98.

(Citation omitted)

[7]         Accordingly, it is clear and obvious that the applicant's application for judicial review, which is intended to prevent the disclosure of the report, has become moot and warrants being struck out.

[8]         Consequently, the applicant's application for judicial review is struck out, the whole without costs. This order as to the outcome of the case has precedence over and vacates from this point on the provisions of the Direction of this Court dated January 14, 2002.

Richard Morneau

Prothonotary

Certified true translation

Suzanne M. Gauthier, C. Tr., LL.L

FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA

TRIAL DIVISION

Date: 20020121

                                                         Docket: T-1817-98

BETWEEN:

LES ALIMENTS PRINCE FOODS INC.

Applicant

and

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND

AGRI-FOOD CANADA

Respondent

and

BERNARD DRAINVILLE

Respondent

REASONS FOR ORDER

AND ORDER

FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA

TRIAL DIVISION

NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD

DOCKET NO:                         T-1817-98       

STYLE:                                      LES ALIMENTS PRINCE FOODS INC.

Applicant

and

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND

AGRI-FOOD CANADA

Respondent

and

BERNARD DRAINVILLE

Respondent

WRITTEN MOTION EXAMINED IN MONTREÁL WITHOUT APPEARANCE OF PARTIES

REASONS FOR ORDER OF MR. RICHARD MORNEAU, PROTHONOTARY

DATED:                                   January 21, 2002

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS BY:

Louis Masson                                                                     for the applicant

Bernard Letarte                                                                 for the respondent Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Judith Harvie                                                                      for the respondent Bernard Drainville

SOLICITORS OF RECORD:

Joli-Coeur, Lacasse, Geoffrion, Jetté, St-Pierre for the applicant

Sillery, Quebec