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ARTICLE · 25 APRIL 2016

Standard Of Review Of Administrative Action: Coherence Post-Dunsmuir?

McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault
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It was widely hoped that the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick would simplify the judicial review of administrative action by limiting the scope of review to two standards: reasonableness and correctness.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Louis Fouquet (Articling Student)
Louis Fouquet (Articling Student)
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It was widely hoped that the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9 ("Dunsmuir") would simplify the judicial review of administrative action by limiting the scope of review to two standards: reasonableness and correctness. The divided Supreme Court of Canada opinion in Commission scolaire de Laval v. Syndicat de l'enseignement de la région de Laval, 2016 SCC 8 shows that there is still a long way to go before coherence and uniformity is brought to this area of law.

Background

In June 2009, a Quebec school board had to decide whether to dismiss a teacher on the basis of a serious criminal background. After hearing the teacher and holding a partially in camera meeting (where the public was excluded), the executive committee deliberated entirely in camera (without the teacher or the union being present). Once its deliberations were concluded, the board issued a resolution removing the teacher from his position, providing some

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