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ARTICLE · 16 JUNE 2022

Vavilov's "Polar Star": Legislative Intent And Analysing Impacts In Midwives

Lerners LLP
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The Supreme Court of Canada's now famed Vavilov decision sought to cut through the fog of how courts should undertake judicial reviews of administrative decisions.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Mitchell C. Brown
Mitchell C. Brown
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The Supreme Court of Canada's now famed Vavilov decision1 sought to cut through the fog of how courts should undertake judicial reviews of administrative decisions. Ever since, lawyers and adjudicators have been closely watching how the courts apply Vavilov's revised framework – in particular, its presumption of a "reasonableness" standard and its reinvigorated approach to that reasonableness analysis.2

In the Court of Appeal for Ontario's recent decision in Ontario (Health) v Association of Midwives, 2022 ONCA 458 ("Midwives"), we see a significant step in clarifying Vavilov's legacy.

Quick Facts

In 2013, the Association of Ontario Midwives ("AOM"), on behalf of more than 800 midwives, brought a human rights claim against the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care alleging systemic discrimination for their compensation decisions going back to 1994, when midwives became a regulated profession.3

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