Date:
20071128
Docket:
A-455-07
Citation: 2007 FCA 378
[ENGLISH
TRANSLATION]
Present: Létourneau J.A.
BETWEEN:
BUREAU D'ÉTUDES
STRATÉGIQUES ET TECHNIQUES
EN
ÉCONOMIQUES (BESTE)
Applicant
and
THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
Respondent
Written motion decided without
appearance of the parties
Order
delivered at Ottawa, Ontario, on November 28, 2007.
REASONS
FOR ORDER: LÉTOURNEAU
J.A.
Date:
20071128
Docket:
A-455-07
Citation: 2007 FCA 378
Present: Létourneau
J.A.
BETWEEN:
BUREAU D'ÉTUDES STRATÉGIQUES ET
TECHNIQUES
EN
ÉCONOMIQUES (BESTE)
Applicant
and
THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
Respondent
REASONS
FOR ORDER
LÉTOURNEAU
J.A.
[1]
Jean-Marc
Bergevin is submitting a motion through which he requests permission to
represent himself under Rule 119 of the Federal Courts Rules. However,
according to Rule 119, it is not necessary for an individual who wishes to act
alone to obtain the Court’s leave to do so. Still, the individual must be a
party to the proceedings.
[2]
The
difficulty in this case is that Mr. Bergevin was the complainant before the
Canadian International Trade Tribunal, but the Tribunal, at paragraph 1 of the
summary of its reasons, designates the Bureau d’Études Stratégiques et
Techniques en Économiques (BESTE) (the Bureau) as the complainant. However, the
complainant, Mr. Bergevin, is not the applicant in this application for
judicial review.
[3]
Having
reviewed the allegations in Mr. Bergevin’s motion, it is my understanding that
he is the owner and operator of the abovementioned Bureau, which is the company
registered with the Quebec enterprise register under the Act respecting the
legal publicity of sole proprietorships, partnerships and legal persons,
R.S.Q., c. P-45.
[4]
The
applicant’s status in this application for judicial review is governed by Rule
120. It stipulates that an unincorporated association, to which the description
of the Bureau made by Mr. Bergevin seems to correspond, must be represented by
counsel unless the Court—due to special circumstances—authorizes it to be
represented by one of its directors, associates or members, as the case may be.
[5]
Counsel
for the respondent does not object to Mr. Bergevin’s motion insofar as the
Court will make any orders issued in this case personal to him, including the
one concerning costs. Furthermore, they point out that the applicant did not
commence an action against the right respondent and request that appropriate
corrections be made at the same time to avoid additional proceedings. The
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) should have been the
designated respondent rather than the Attorney General of Canada.
[6]
In
short, it seems as if neither of them is the right person in this procedure for
judicial review involving an applicant and a respondent according to the parties’
claim. As a start, it could have hardly gone more awry.
[7]
Unless
Mr. Bergevin can be substituted for the current applicant, which is not up to
me to decide in this motion, Mr. Bergevin’s motion to represent the Bureau will
be dismissed. I do not believe that it would be timely and in the interests of
justice and the smooth and efficient unfolding of the procedures that a case of
this magnitude proceed without legal representation.
[8]
As
for the request made by counsel for the respondents to have the CIDA designated
as the respondent, I believe that it is justified and that change can be made
regardless of the imbroglio that surrounds the applicant’s status. The order
that stems from these reasons will indicate the necessary changes.
“Gilles
Létourneau”
FEDERAL COURT OF
APPEAL
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND
SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: A-455-07
STYLE OF CAUSE: BUREAU
D’ÉTUDES STRATÉGIQUES ET
TECHNIQUES EN ÉCONOMIQUES
(BESTE)
v. THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL OF CANADA
WRITTEN
MOTION DECIDED WITHOUT APPEARANCE OF THE PARTIES
REASONS FOR ORDER: LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
DATED: November 28, 2007
WRITTEN
REPRESENTATIONS:
|
Jean-Marc Bergevin
|
FOR
THE APPLICANT
|
|
Bernard Letarte
Andréane
Joanette-Laflamme
|
FOR
THE RESPONDENT
|
SOLICITORS
OF RECORD:
|
Sainte-Foy, Quebec
|
FOR
THE APPLICANT
|
|
John
H. Sims, Q.C.
Deputy
Attorney General of Canada
|
FOR
THE RESPONDENT
|
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