Staying Administrative Proceedings Due To Delay: Is The Law Changing?

The Supreme Court of Canada recently granted leave to appeal from the decision of Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Abrametz,¹ a decision of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan that has made waves in Canadian administrative law because it lowered the threshold for a stay as a remedy for undue delay. Before Abrametz the leading case addressing administrative delay was Blencoe v. British Columbia (Human Rights Commission),² which set a high threshold for obtaining a stay due to administrative delay that amounts to an abuse of process.

Under the Blencoe framework, inordinate delay could only give rise to a stay of proceedings if the administrative delay was prejudicial, such that the party's ability to answer the case was somehow impaired, or if the delay caused significant personal or psychological prejudice or attached a stigma to a person's reputation, such that the proceedings would be brought into disrepute and constitute an abuse of process.³ Even then, a stay