Agricultural Law NetLetter: Friday, March 7, 2014 - Issue 295

** HIGHLIGHTS **

• A Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench has held that certiorari and mandamus are not available to quash the direction of livestock inspectors who requested that cattle and sale proceeds be held until the regulatory mechanism under Saskatchewan legislation for determining ownership has been exhausted. The Saskatchewan Agricultural Products Act and the Regulations thereunder allow livestock inspectors to detain both cattle and sale proceeds if the ownership of cattle is in dispute. The Regulations contain a mechanism which allows the Ministry of Agriculture to conduct investigations to attempt to determine ownership, failing which funds are paid into Court. [Editor's Note: As far as the editor is aware, this is the first occasion on which any Canadian Court has considered whether certiorari or mandamus are available to challenge decisions of livestock investigators. A number of other provinces have legislation similar to Saskatchewan.].