Date:
20121217
Docket:
T-503-12
Citation:
2012 FC 1484
Ottawa, Ontario,
December 17, 2012
PRESENT: The
Honourable Madam Justice Kane
BETWEEN:
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CUPE, AIR CANADA COMPONENT
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Applicant
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and
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CANADA (MINISTER OF
LABOUR) and
AIR CANADA
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Respondents
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REASONS FOR
ORDER AND ORDER
[1]
The
respondents, Canada (Minister of Labour) and Air Canada, have brought this
motion seeking an Order to strike the applicant’s application for judicial
review of the Minister of Labour’s decision not to issue a direction in
response to a complaint that Air Canada violated Part II of the Canada
Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2 [the Code] and Part XX of the Canada
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, SOR/86-304 [COHSR]. The
application for judicial review seeks mandamus to compel the issue of a
direction and to compel the Minister to prosecute Air Canada for a violation of the Code. The respondent submits that the mandamus
application should fail because it seeks a remedy not available at law.
Background
[2]
On October
21, 2010, the applicant, the Canadian Union of Public Employees – Air Canada
Component [CUPE] and two other unions, the Air Canada Pilots Association [ACPA]
and the National Automobile, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada
[CAW], filed a complaint with Human Resources
and Skills Development Canada [HRSDC] alleging that Air Canada was in violation
of Section 125.1 (z.08) and (z.16) of the Canada Labour Code and COHSR
Part XX. The complaint alleged that: Air Canada did not include the ACPA early
enough in the process; that Air Canada’s choice of an officer from the
Corporate Security department as the “competent person” to investigate
workplace violence was not acceptable as that person was not considered to be
impartial by the unions; and, mere consultation with the Policy Committee did
not constitute active participation, as required by the COHSR. The
complaint requested “that the presiding HRSDC officer in Toronto, Ontario intervene and exercise their jurisdiction in this matter”.
[3]
Health and
Safety Officer [HSO] Véronique Morin investigated the complaint. By letter
dated March 9, 2012, she addressed the three issues and concluded with respect
to each that the employer was not in violation of the Code [“HSO Morin’s
Decision”].
[4]
That same
day, the applicant filed an application for judicial review of the decision.
The applicant, CUPE, sought the following relief (in addition to costs):
- An order for mandamus
requiring the Minister or another HSO to issue a direction pursuant to
subsection 145(1) that Air Canada terminate its alleged violations of the Code
and the COHSR;
-
An order for mandamus requiring the Minister or her designate
to prosecute the matter; or alternatively to grant consent to the applicant to
prosecute the matter;
- An
order requiring the Minister to apply or cause an application to be made to a
superior court judge for an order enjoining Air Canada from contravention of
the Code and the COHSR.
The
Current Motion
[5]
The
respondents now seek the following relief:
a.
An
Order striking out the applicant’s notice of application, or portions thereof;
b.
An
Order dismissing the applicant’s application for judicial review;
c.
In
the alternative, an Order to stay or place in abeyance the applicant’s notice of
application pending the rendering of a decision of Justice Rennie of the
respondent’s motion in CUPE v Canada (Minister of Labour) and Canada
(Minister of Transport) and Air Canada, court file T-1072-10 and the final
disposition of the mandamus issue in that application;
d.
Costs
of this motion; and
e.
Such
further relief as this Honourable Court may consider just.
[6]
It
should be noted that Justice Rennie issued a decision on June 7, 2012 [the June
7, 2012 Order] in CUPE v Canada (Minister of Labour) and Canada (Minister of Transport) and Air Canada, court file T-1072-10. In that application, the
unions sought mandamus to require the Minister to prosecute an alleged
violation of the Code and to require the Minister to apply for an order
enjoining Air Canada from contravening a Direction previously issued. The
respondents sought an order removing them as respondents and an order
dismissing the application for judicial review seeking mandamus to
compel them to prosecute Air Canada and to seek an order enjoining Air Canada from contravening the Code. Justice Rennie’s Order removed the respondents and
dismissed the application insofar as it sought mandamus.
[7]
A
stay, as proposed in paragraph c), above, is no longer an option. However,
while the factual issues are not identical in the current application, the
legal issues are the same.
Positions of the Parties
Respondent (Moving Party): Canada (Minister of Labour)
[8]
The
respondent submits that the merits of the HSO’s decision are not at issue. The
HSO conducted an investigation which included the scheduling of several
meetings to discuss the complaint and consideration of the submissions made by
the unions. The HSO reviewed the three elements of the complaint, provided
reasons, and concluded that there was no violation of the Code by Air Canada. The decision was first communicated to the parties orally, followed by a written
decision on March 9, 2010.
[9]
The
respondent agrees that the decision may be judicially reviewed: Sachs v Air Canada, 2007 FCA 279, [2007]
FCJ No 1166 [Sachs], but that the appropriate remedy is certiorari.
[10]
The
respondent submits that the test for mandamus established by the Federal
Court of Appeal in Apotex
Inc v Canada (Attorney General)
(1993), [1994] 1 FC 742, [1993] FCJ No 1098 at para 45 (FCA) [Apotex],
aff'd [1994] 3 S.C.R. 1100, [1994] SCJ No 113 (and adopted in St Brieux (Town) v Canada (Minister of
Fisheries and Oceans),
2010 FC 427, [2010] FCJ No 491 [St Brieux]) governs and that the applicant
fails to meet the test.
[11]
The
respondent submits that Justice Rennie’s decision addressed the same legal
issues and should be followed.
[12]
The
respondent, Canada (Minister of Labour), submits that the application seeks
remedies that are not available at law and have no possibility of success. The
applicant unions are seeking to force the Minister of Labour to exercise her
discretion in a particular way; to prosecute Air Canada for violations of the
Code or to delegate the prosecutorial discretion to a member of the public.
[13]
The
respondent agrees that the Court is not prohibited from reviewing prosecutorial
discretion, but submits that a very high standard must be met to do so. This
case does not involve conduct which “shocks the conscience of the community”
nor is this a case of flagrant impropriety established by proof of misconduct
bordering on corruption, violation of the law, or bias against or for a
particular individual:
Ochapowace First
Nation (Indian Band No 71) v Canada
(Attorney General, 2007 FC 920, [2007]
FCJ No 1195 at paras 47-48.
[14]
Moreover,
the respondent submits that while the Minister of Labour must consent to
prosecutions, it is the Director of Public Prosecutions that decides whether a
prosecution will proceed, and therefore, it would have no practical effect to
compel the Minister of Labour to consent to prosecute.
[15]
With
respect to the injunctive relief requested, the respondent submits that the
issue is not justiciable: Friends
of the Earth v Canada (Governor in Council), 2008 FC 1183, [2008] FCJ No 1464. The respondent reiterates that mandamus
is not available to compel the Minister to exercise her discretion in a
particular way, specifically to compel her to seek an injunction.
[16]
In
summary, the respondent’s position is that, based on the test in Apotex
and St Brieux, mandamus is not available. There is another
adequate remedy available; certiorari
Respondent (Moving Party): Air Canada
[17]
Air
Canada agrees with the Minister of Labour and submits that the judicial
review application should be struck because mandamus is not available at
law.
[18]
Air
Canada agrees that the decision not to prosecute or issue a direction cannot
be appealed and that the proper approach is to seek judicial review of the
decision: Sachs, above. However, the appropriate remedy would be
certiorari, which would permit the reasonableness of the decision
to be addressed and would permit a redetermination of the complaint if allowed.
Certiorari would address the applicant’s allegations regarding bias, bad
faith, jurisdiction or insufficiency of reasons.
[19]
Air
Canada supports Canada’s position that the test for mandamus as set out
in Apotex and St Brieux was not met. In addition, they submit
that a direct request to the Minister to prosecute is a condition precedent
pursuant to that test and that mandamus cannot issue as there has never
been such a request; HRSDC was only asked to investigate a violation of the
Code.
[20]
In
addition, Air Canada notes that the Director of Public Prosecutions exercises
the discretion to prosecute and, while the consent of the Minister of Labour
would be required, compelling the consent of the Minister would not determine
whether to prosecute. Even if the Minister had been asked to prosecute, she
would have had no basis to do so, given that her own officer had investigated
the complaint and found that there was no violation.
[21]
With
respect to the request for mandamus to issue a direction, Air Canada adds that the Court could only issue a specific order capable of being enforced. A
direction to simply take action would be too vague.
Applicant (Responding Party): CUPE
[22]
CUPE
submits that its application is necessary to compel Canada to enforce the Code
either by issuance of a direction to terminate contraventions of the Code, or
by way of an injunction, and prosecution is necessary to hold the employer
responsible for violating the Code. CUPE emphasised the importance of the
context of the complaint, which is workplace violence and that the problems
continue.
[23]
CUPE
submits that the test to strike the application is that there is no possibility
of success. As this is a debatable issue, the application should proceed.
[24]
CUPE
submits that when an HSO fails to issue a Direction, the effective remedy is mandamus
as this could result in a direction to Air Canada to act or could result in a
prosecution for violation of the Code.
[25]
Certiorari would not be an
effective remedy as it could only result in a redetermination of the complaint
and, in the meantime, the offending conduct would continue. The unions could
bring new complaints rather than seeking certiorari, but neither would
ameliorate the problems.
[26]
CUPE
submits that the respondent’s application is not about the reasons for the
HSO’s failure to act, nor is it about whether Air Canada was in contravention
of the Code. These issues must be determined at a hearing on the merits. Although
the respondent sought to address the merits, asserting that the HSO had
conducted an investigation, CUPE submits that there is no evidence that the HSO
did so or that she considered the submissions of the unions. These are issues
to be addressed on judicial review.
[27]
CUPE
agrees that the test for granting mandamus is that established in Apotex
and St Brieux and that it has met all parts of the test with
respect to compelling prosecution and the issuance of a direction.
[28]
CUPE
submits that mandamus is available to review the failure of an HSO to
issue a direction where there is a breach of the Code and the COHSR.
CUPE also submits that mandamus is available for the prosecutorial and
injunctive remedies sought and that there is an arguable case that prosecutorial
discretion is reviewable in the circumstances of this case.
[29]
CUPE
claims that its request “that HRSDC officer exercise their jurisdiction” is a
clear request to the Minister through the designated HSO to take whatever
remedial measures are available under the Code. Therefore any necessary
condition precedent was met.
[30]
CUPE
further submits that Justice Rennnie’s June 7, 2012 Order which struck the mandamus
portions of the judicial review was wrong and CUPE has sought to appeal that
Order.
Intervenor: CAW-Canada
[31]
CAW
also opposes Canada and Air Canada’s application to strike the application. In
addition, CAW alleges unfairness on the part of both HSO Morin and the Minister
and bias against the unions. CAW contends that the Minister did not consider exercising
her discretion in response to the complaint and did not give any other person
authority to consent to the prosecution, thereby leaving Air Canada immune from prosecution. According to CAW, this suggests that the Minister is biased
in Air Canada’s favour.
Relevant
Legislation
[32]
Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2 :
125. (1) Without restricting the
generality of section 124, every employer shall, in respect of every work
place controlled by the employer and, in respect of every work activity
carried out by an employee in a work place that is not controlled by the
employer, to the extent that the employer controls the activity,
[…]
(z.08) cooperate with the
policy and work place committees or the health and safety representative in
the execution of their duties under this Part;
[…]
(z.16) take the prescribed steps
to prevent and protect against violence in the work place;
145. (1) A health and safety officer who is of the
opinion that a provision of this Part is being contravened or has recently
been contravened may direct the employer or employee concerned, or
both, to
(a) terminate the contravention within the
time that the officer may specify; and
(b) take steps, as specified by the officer
and within the time that the officer may specify, to ensure that the
contravention does not continue or re-occur.
[…]
Minister’s
consent required
149. (1) No
proceeding in respect of an offence under this Part may be instituted except
with the consent of the Minister or a person designated by the Minister.
[…]
Injunction
proceedings
152. The
Minister may apply or cause an application to be made to a judge of a
superior court for an order enjoining any person from contravening a
provision of this Part, whether or not a prosecution has been instituted for
an offence under this Part, or enjoining any person from continuing any act
or default for which the person was convicted of an offence under this Part.
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125. (1) Dans le cadre de
l’obligation générale définie à l’article 124, l’employeur est tenu, en ce
qui concerne tout lieu de travail placé sous son entière autorité ainsi que
toute tâche accomplie par un employé dans un lieu de travail ne relevant pas
de son autorité, dans la mesure où cette tâche, elle, en relève :
[…]
z.08) de collaborer avec le comité
d’orientation et le comité local ou le représentant pour l’exécution des
responsabilités qui leur incombent sous le régime de la présente partie;
[…]
z.16) de prendre les mesures prévues par les règlements pour prévenir
et réprimer la violence dans le lieu de travail;
145. (1) S’il est d’avis qu’une
contravention à la présente partie vient d’être commise ou est en train de
l’être, l’agent de santé et de sécurité peut donner à l’employeur ou à
l’employé en cause l’instruction :
a) d’y
mettre fin dans le délai qu’il précise;
b) de prendre, dans les
délais précisés, les mesures qu’il précise pour empêcher la continuation de
la contravention ou sa répétition.
[…]
Consentement du
ministre
149. (1) Les poursuites des infractions à la présente partie
sont subordonnées au consentement du ministre ou de toute personne que
désigne celui-ci.
[…]
Procédure
d’injonction
152. Le ministre peut
demander ou faire demander à un juge d'une juridiction supérieure une
ordonnance interdisant toute contravention à la présente partie — que des
poursuites aient été engagées ou non sous le régime de celle-ci — ou visant à
faire cesser l'acte ou le défaut ayant donné lieu à l'infraction pour
laquelle il y a eu déclaration de culpabilité en application de la présente partie.
|
[33]
Canada Occupational Health and Safety
Regulations,
SOR/86-304:
20.1 The employer
shall carry out its obligations under this Part in consultation with and the
participation of the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee,
the work place committee or the health and safety representative.
20.9 (1) In this section, “competent
person” means a
person who
(a) is impartial
and is seen by the parties to be impartial;
(b) has knowledge,
training and experience in issues relating to work place violence; and
(c) has knowledge
of relevant legislation.
[…]
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20.1 L’employeur qui s’acquitte des obligations qui lui sont imposées
par la présente partie consulte le comité d’orientation ou, à défaut, le
comité local ou le représentant, avec la participation du comité ou du
représentant en cause.
20.9 (1) Au présent article, «
personne compétente » s’entend
de toute personne qui, à la fois :
a) est impartiale et est considérée comme
telle par les parties;
b) a des connaissances, une formation et de l’expérience
dans le domaine de la violence dans le lieu de travail;
c) connaît les textes législatifs
applicables.
[…]
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The Issues
[34]
The
parties agree that the decision not to issue a direction can be judicially
reviewed, but disagree on whether the remedy is mandamus or certiorari.
[35]
The
parties also agree that the eight-part test for issuing a mandamus
order, as recently reiterated in St Brieux, applies. However, while the
applicant submits that it has met all parts of the test, the respondents submit
that the applicant has failed to meet the test (in particular parts 3, 4, 5 and
6). The test is:
1. There
must be a public legal duty to act;
2. The
duty must be owed to the applicant;
3. There is a clear right
to performance of that duty, in particular:
a.
The applicant has satisfied all conditions precedent giving
rise
to the duty;
b.
There was (i) a prior demand for performance of that duty;
(ii)
a reasonable time tocomply with the demand unless refused outright; and (iii) a
subsequent refusal which can be either expressed or implied, e.g. unreasonable
delay;
4. Where the duty sought
to be enforced is discretionary, the following rules must apply:
a.
in exercising a discretion, the decision-maker must not act
in
a manner which can be characterized as "unfair",
"oppressive"
or demonstrate "flagrant impropriety" or "bad faith";
b.
mandamus is unavailable if the decision-maker's
discretion
is characterized as being “unqualified", "absolute",
"permissive" or "unfettered";
c.
in the exercise of a "fettered" discretion, the decision-
maker
must act upon "relevant", as opposed to "irrelevant",
considerations;
d.
mandamus is unavailable to compel the exercise of a
"fettered
discretion" in a particular way; and
e.
mandamus is only available when the decision-maker's
discretion
is "spent"; i.e., the applicant has a vested right to the performance
of the duty;
5. No other adequate
remedy is available to the applicant;
6. The order sought will
be of some practical value or effect;
7. The Court in the
exercise of its discretion finds no equitable bar to the relief sought; and
8. On a "balance of
convenience" an order in the nature of mandamus should (or should
not) issue.
[36]
As
noted above, the respondents argue that the Minister’s delegate, the HSO,
investigated the complaint and exercised her discretion not to issue a
direction or to prosecute. Mandamus is not available to compel the
exercise of discretion in a particular way. Moreover, compelling the Minister
to consent to prosecution would yield no practical result because the
discretion to prosecute rests with the Director of Public Prosecutions. In
addition, certiorari is an alternative and adequate remedy. The
respondents also assert that a condition precedent of requesting the Minister to
prosecute was not satisfied and that the complaint, which merely called upon
HRSDC to investigate and exercise its jurisdiction, is not sufficient to
satisfy this requirement.
[37]
The
applicant submits that the test has been met and that there is an arguable case
that mandamus is available to compel prosecution or to compel a Direction
to be issued. The applicant submits that while the threshold to review the
exercise of prosecutorial discretion is very high, prosecutorial discretion is
not absolute. The Minister’s discretion is not unfettered. The applicant
submits that certiorari is not an adequate alternative remedy as a
redetermination of the complaint will not yield any practical result or
effective relief. The applicant argues that judicial review should proceed and
that the merits of the request for mandamus should be considered with
the benefit of a complete record.
[38]
As
noted above, in CUPE v Canada (Minister of Labour) and Canada (Minister of
Transport) and Air Canada, court file T-1072-10, the applicant sought mandamus
to compel prosecution and an order to require the Minister to seek an
injunction against Air Canada with respect to the alleged contraventions of a
Direction. Justice Rennie issued his Order on June 7, 2012. The key difference
in the present application is that the applicant seeks to have a Direction
issued, rather than enforced. The facts are different but the legal issues are
the same.
[39]
I
agree with the reasons of Justice Rennie that mandamus is not available
as a matter of law to compel the Minister of Labour or her delegate to
prosecute for an alleged violation of the Code.
[40]
Prosecutorial
discretion is reviewable only in exceptional cases and the circumstances of
this case do not meet the threshold. There is no evidence that there are
improper motives or bad faith or that failure to prosecute would shock the
conscience of the community or bring the administration of justice into
disrepute. There is no evidence of a policy of non-enforcement of the Code or a
consistent pattern or practice amounting to a policy decision not to
investigate.
[41]
A
decision to prosecute is not taken lightly; it would be based on a thorough
investigation and would likely be a last resort if other measures to bring
about compliance failed. While the consent of the Minister of Labour to
prosecute is required, the decision to prosecute rests with the Director of
Public Prosecution [DPP]. The DPP would carefully consider the results of an
investigation when determining whether a prosecution should be pursued. The HSO
is responsible for such investigations. To compel a prosecution where the
investigation has concluded that it is not warranted would render the role of
the HSO meaningless and could lead to prosecutions with no reasonable chance of
success.
[42]
The
parties disagreed about whether the requirement to request a prosecution is a
condition precedent and part of the test for mandamus. The Minister of
Labour and Air Canada submitted that a prior request directly to the Minister
was a condition precedent. CUPE and CAW submitted that this request was
implicit in their complaint and also that a request to the HSO as the
Minister’s delegate was sufficient. In my view, this issue is not
determinative. However, given the scope of the Minister’s responsibilities, a requirement
for complainants to directly request that the Minister prosecute an alleged
violation would not be practical. Moreover, the Code does not appear to require
such a direct request.
[43]
Justice
Rennie considered the same issues and the same jurisprudence cited by the
parties and concluded that the exercise of prosecutorial discretion is not
subject to judicial review, except in very rare circumstances. The Apotex and
St Brieux test was considered and applied. The relevant parts of the
Order (paras 21-29) are set out below:
The exercise of prosecutorial discretion is, with
rare and limited exception, not subject to judicial review. This is not the
place to revisit the legal policy rationale which underlies the principle that
the exercise of prosecutorial discretion will not be reviewed. The
jurisprudence was thoroughly canvassed in Ochapowace First Nation v Canada
(Attorney General),
2007 FC 920, [2008] 3 FCR 571 by Justice Yves de Montigny. It is sufficient to
note that the principle is well established and derives its antecedence in
part, from the respective roles played by the different branches of government
under our constitution: R
v Power, [1994]
1 SCR 601; DPP
v Humphrys,
[1976] 2 All ER 497 per Viscount Dilhorne.
In
Power at p 615-616 the
Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) noted that the courts do have a residual
discretion to review the exercise of discretion, but only in “the clearest of
cases” where the conduct “shocks
the conscience of the community and is so detrimental to the proper administration
of justice that it warrants judicial intervention.”
While not immune from review, the bar that must be
crossed before prosecutorial discretion will be reviewed is very high. Much
more is required than a mere surmise or argument from the counsel table to the
effect that the discretion was abused; rather, according to the Court (Power,
p 616):
To
conclude that the situation "is tainted to such a degree" and that it
amounts to one of the "clearest of cases", as the abuse of process
has been characterized by the jurisprudence, requires overwhelming evidence
that the proceedings under scrutiny are unfair to the point that they are
contrary to the interest of justice. As will be developed in more detail
further in these reasons, the Attorney General is a member of the executive and
as such reflects, through his or her prosecutorial function, the interest of
the community to see that justice is properly done. The Attorney
General's role in this regard is not only to protect the public, but also to honour
and express the community's sense of justice. Accordingly, courts should
be careful before they attempt to "second‑guess" the
prosecutor's motives when he or she makes a decision. Where there is
conspicuous evidence of improper motives or of bad faith or of an act so wrong
that it violates the conscience of the community, such that it would genuinely
be unfair and indecent to proceed, then, and only then, should courts intervene
to prevent an abuse of process which could bring the administration of justice
into disrepute. Cases of this nature will be extremely rare.
In Krieger
v Law Society of Alberta,
2002 SCC 65, [2002] 3 S.C.R. 372, the
SCC delineated the core elements of prosecutorial discretion to include the
decision to prosecute, to stay a charge, to accept a plea to a lesser charge
and to withdraw a charge. What is sought here is an order compelling a
decision to prosecute. This is a core element of prosecutorial discretion.
Moreover, the applicant here seeks to expand the scope of judicial review into
previously uncharted territory. To date, most jurisprudence addresses the
potential abuse of process arising from a decision to prosecute an individual;
no case law was put before this Court which would support the use of public law
remedies to compel the prosecution of a third person.
As
noted earlier, the investigation of violations of the Code and the Aviation Occupational
Safety and Health Regulations are carried out by Health and Safety Officers
acting under the dual authority of the Ministers of Labour and Transport. This
investigatory function is analogous to that of police investigations, which the
Courts have consistently declined to subject to judicial review, subject to the
rare circumstances noted: Zhang
v Canada (Attorney General),
2007 FCA
201. The point was made by Laskin JA in Henco Industries Limited v
Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy Council, 2006 CanLII 41649 (ON CA) at
para 113.
Prosecutorial discretion is vested in the Attorney
General but, under the Director
of Public Prosecutions Act SC
2006, c 9, s 121,
delegated to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Parliament has nonetheless
required that the consent to prosecute of other ministers, in this case, the
Minister of Labour be obtained. Other examples of this threshold consent to
prosecute can be found in other federal statutes; Parliamentary Employment
and Staff Relations Act (RSC, 1985, c 33 (2nd Supp.)); Royal Canadian
Mounted Police Act (RSC, 1985, c R-10), section 49.
Assuming, however, for the purpose of argument, that
this “consent” bears some equivalence to prosecutorial discretion, in Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway Co. v Canada
(Minister of Labour),
[1996] FCJ No 545 the
Federal Court of Appeal cited with approval the Ontario Superior Court decision
in R
v Brinks Canada
Ltd., [1994] OJ No 346 at para. 11:
“there is no reason why the exercise of
prosecutorial discretion, when confided by Parliament to a different Minister
of the Crown, should be held to be reviewable in courts on any different basis.”
This threshold consent to prosecute does not, in my
view, replicate or pre-determine whether the Director of Public Prosecutions
will in fact, in exercising his independent discretion, conclude that there is
a reasonable prospect of a conviction and that it is in the public interest to
prosecute.
In sum, as a practical matter, as the prosecutorial
discretion will ultimately be exercised by the Director of Public Prosecutions,
the fact that the Minister of Labour may consent does not, in effect, guarantee
a prosecution. Mandamus against the Ministers would be of no effect,
given that prosecutorial discretion rests with the Director of Public
Prosecutions.
[44]
With
respect to the applicant’s request for mandamus to require the Minister
or HSO to issue a direction to terminate the alleged violations of the Code and
regulations, the test for mandamus has not been satisfied. Mandamus
cannot order the exercise of discretion in a particular way. In this case, the
HSO conducted an investigation and concluded that there was no violation.
Although the applicant is not satisfied with this conclusion, the appropriate
remedy is certiorari to review the reasonableness of that decision. The
court cannot take it upon itself to determine whether a direction should be issued
and what the direction should be, and a direction simply to act lacks
sufficient precision to be enforceable or effective. This is the role of the
HSO as delegated by the Code.
[45]
With
respect to the request for an Order requiring the Minister to seek an Order
enjoining Air Canada from contravention of the Code and the COHSR, I
adopt the reasons of Justice Rennie and agree that the test for mandamus
is not met and the issue is not justiciable. As he noted at para 30:
There remains the question whether mandamus
can be obtained ordering the Minister to commence injunction proceedings
forcing Air Canada to comply with the 2006 Direction. This relief is dismissed
for two reasons. First, the subject matter of this request is not
justiciable. The subject matter is not appropriate in judicial intervention
and in any event the Court lacks the capacity to enforce the matter: Friends of
the Earth v Canada (Environment), 2009 FCA 297 at para 25. Second, even if the
subject matter were justiciable, the criteria for mandamus are not met: Apotex.
The Ministers are under a clear and weighty duty to enforce the law, but absent
bad faith or exceptional circumstances, it is not a duty which the Court will
enforce: R v Police Commissioner of The Metropolis Ex
parte Blackburn,
[1968] 1 All ER 763; Northern Lights
Fitness Products Inc. v Canada (Minister of National Health and Welfare) [1994] FCJ No 319.
It is imperative however, not to overstate the principle. In Blackburn,
the Court of Appeal would have issued mandamus to compel the
investigation and prosecution, as would the Federal Court in Distribution Canada Inc. v Canada (Minister of National
Revenue - M.N.R.), [1993] FCJ No 9, had
there been an evidentiary finding of either a policy of non-enforcement or a
consistent pattern or practice amounting to a policy decision not to
investigate.
[46]
While
the applicant does not agree that the complaints were thoroughly investigated,
the decision includes reasons indicating that each aspect was considered and
that something was done. Whether the decision is reasonable is not for this
Court to determine at this time.
[47]
While
mindful that an application for judicial review should be determined on its
merits, for the reasons noted above, the relief sought is not available as a
matter of law and the respondent’s motion to strike the application for
judicial review is granted. Again, adopting the words of Justice Rennie in his
June 7, 2012 Order, at para 17:
The presumptive rule is that an application for
judicial review is to be determined on its merits, after a hearing: David Bull Laboratories (Canada) Inc. v Pharmacia Inc.,
[1995] 1 FC 588 at
pp 596-597 (CA). This is consistent with the sound legal policy objective of
disposing of applications expeditiously. Nevertheless, the Court will dismiss,
on an interlocutory basis, an originating application where there is no chance
of success: Torres
Victoria v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2006 FC 857.
[48]
For
the reasons noted above, this application has no chance of success insofar as
it seeks mandamus.
ORDER
THIS
COURT ORDERS that:
1. The
relief sought by way of mandamus is dismissed from the Notice of
Application.
2. This
Order is without prejudice to the applicants’ judicial review seeking certiorari.
3. No order
as to costs.
"Catherine M.
Kane"