Byl v. Ont., (2003) 175 O.A.C. 171 (DC)

• Judge: Lane, Meehan and de Sousa, JJ.
• Court: Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
• Case Date: June 02, 2003
• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Citations: (2003), 175 O.A.C. 171 (DC)

Byl v. Ont. (2003), 175 O.A.C. 171 (DC)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2003] O.A.C. TBEd. SE.037

Heidi Byl, Litigation Guardian of Corey Byl, William F. Vaughn, Litigation Guardian of Brent Vaughn, St. Catharines Association For Community Living and Community Living Ontario (applicants) v. Her Majesty The Queen in the Right of Ontario (respondent)

(314/03)

Indexed As: Byl et al. v. Ontario

Court of Ontario

Superior Court of Justice

Divisional Court

Lane, Meehan and de Sousa, JJ.

September 8, 2003.

Summary:

The St. Catharines Association for Com­munity Living (SCACL) was a non-profit registered charity which provided services to 500 developmentally disabled people and their families. SCACL applied for judicial review of a decision of the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services, which terminated SCACL's funding and directed that another agency take over SCACL's programs and real and personal property.

The Ontario Divisional Court allowed the application and quashed the Ministry's deci­sion as illegal. The court ordered the Min­istry to continue funding to SCACL and to direct its agent to vacate the premises and return them and the management of the institution to SCACL forthwith.

Administrative Law - Topic 2155

Natural justice - Administrative decisions or findings - Effect of failure of tribunal or official to give reasons for decisions - [See Administrative Law - Topic 2272 ].

Administrative Law - Topic 2272

Natural justice - The duty of fairness - Circumstances or powers to which duty applies (incl. extent of duty) - The St. Catharines Association for Community Living (SCACL) applied for judicial re­view of a decision of the Ministry of Com­munity, Family and Children's Services, which terminated SCACL's funding and directed that another agency take over SCACL's programs and real and personal property - The Ontario Divisional Court allowed the application - The Ministry had a duty to provide SCACL: (a) fair warning of what might ensue if certain Ministry requirements were not met; (b) an oppor­tunity to know the case it had to meet; (c) a reasonable opportunity to make represen­tations: and (d) timely and full disclosure of the reasons for the sudden reversal of its funding - SCACL never received any fair warning and despite their inquiry they were never really advised as to what it was they were to do - They had no reasonable opportunity to make representations nor did they have timely and full disclosure of the reasons - There was also an abuse of discretion under the principles set out in Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) (S.C.C.) - See para­graphs 102 to 105.

Administrative Law - Topic 2293

Natural justice - Unfairness - Abuse of power or abuse of process - [See Ad­ministrative Law - Topic 2272 ].

Administrative Law - Topic 2493

Natural justice - Procedure - At hearing - Right to make submissions - [See Ad­ministrative Law - Topic 2272 ].

Administrative Law - Topic 2496

Natural justice - Procedure - At hearing - Particulars of allegations - [See Ad­ministrative Law - Topic 2272 ].

Administrative Law - Topic 3203

Judicial review - General - Matters not subject to review - The St. Catharines Association for Community Living (SCACL) was funded by the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Ser­vices under the Developmental Services Act - There was also a written agreement between SCACL and the Ministry - SCACL applied for judicial review of a decision of the Ministry, which terminated SCACL's funding and directed that another agency take over SCACL's programs and real and personal property - The respon­dent argued that the decision was not an exercise of a statutory power and was not amenable to judicial review - The Ontario Divisional Court rejected the argument - This was not a situation of a merely com­mercial or business contract - If a regula­tion had been passed under s. 13 of the Ministry of Community and Social Ser­vices Act to designate SCACL to be sub­ject to the control of the Minister, then that regulation would have been reviewable in limited circumstances - The Ministry's failure to proceed under s. 13 could not result in it obtaining the benefit of evading judicial review - See paragraphs 48 to 74.

Administrative Law - Topic 3205.2

Judicial review - General - Governmental action - [See Administrative Law - Topic 3203 ].

Crown - Topic 676

Authority of ministers - Exercise of - Discretionary power - Limitations - [See Administrative Law - Topic 2272 ].

Crown - Topic 685

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Administrative decisions - Judicial review - [See Administrative Law - Topic 3203 ].

Crown - Topic 685

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Administrative decisions - Judicial review - The St. Catharines Association for Com­munity Living (SCACL) was funded by the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services under the Develop­mental Services Act - There was also a written agreement between SCACL and the Ministry - The Ministry terminated SCACL's funding and directed that another agency take over SCACL's programs and real and personal property - The action was purportedly taken because the Ministry had lost confidence in the ability of SCACL to ensure the health and safety of its clients - SCACL applied for judicial review - The Ontario Divisional Court allowed the application, holding that the Ministry's decision was patently un­reasonable - It did not appear that the Ministry was entitled to terminate the contractual relationship on the basis that there had been a fundamental breach - The Ministry was also not able to demonstrate any financial interest in the properties and chattels of SCACL and there was no evi­dence of an inability to protect SCACL's clients or that the Ministry had considered the effect of the decision on SCACL's clients or employees - See paragraphs 94 to 101.

Crown - Topic 685

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Administrative decisions - Judicial review - The St. Catharines Association for Com­munity Living (SCACL) applied for judi­cial review of a decision of the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Ser­vices, which terminated SCACL's funding and directed that another agency take over SCACL's programs and real and personal property - The Ontario Divisional Court allowed the application - Under s. 13 of the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act, the Minister could ask the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make a regulation authorizing the Minister to operate and manage any institution and to occupy or arrange for the occupation of that institution by the Minister's agent - The purported exercise by the Ministry of a power to appoint a third party to operate and manage SCACL and to occupy its premises for that purpose without such an order in council was an error in law and a decision made without jurisdiction and was void - The Ministry's act in terminating SCACL's funding was, in reality, neces­sarily accompanied by the seizure of SCACL's premises, otherwise SCACL's patients could not be maintained - It was therefore not necessary to consider the legality of the decision to cease funding as if it stood alone - See paragraphs 87 to 89.

Government Programs - Topic 5243

Health and social services - Handicapped or special needs persons - Funding for services - [See Administrative Law - Topic 2272 and second and third Crown - Topic 685 ].

Cases Noticed:

Hamilton-Wentworth (Regional Municipal­ity) v. Ontario (Minister of Transporta­tion) (1991), 46 O.A.C. 246; 2 O.R.(3d) 716 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 63].

Metropolitan General Hospital v. Ontario (Minister of Health) (1979), 25 O.R.(2d) 699 (H.C.), refd to. [para. 64].

Simon et al. v. Toronto (City) (1993), 61 O.A.C. 389; 99 D.L.R.(4th) 11 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 64].

Ontario Hospital Association v. Workplace Health and Safety Agency, [1995] O.J. No. 524 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 64].

Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters et al. v. Ontario (Minister of Natural Resources) et al. (2002), 158 O.A.C. 255 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 64].

Vernon and District Association for the Mentally Handicapped v. British Colum­bia et al., [1999] B.C.T.C. Uned. 369 (S.C.), refd to. [para. 64].

Gajic v. British Columbia (Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations) (1996), 70 B.C.A.C. 213; 115 W.A.C. 213 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 64].

R. v. Harrison, [1977] 1 S.C.R. 238; 8 N.R. 47, refd to. [para. 65].

Doctors Hospital v. Ontario (Minister of Health) (1976), 12 O.R.(2d) 164 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 68].

Canadian Union of Public Employees v. Ontario (Minister of Labour) (2003), 304 N.R. 76; 173 O.A.C. 38 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 73].

Abel et al. v. Advisory Review Board (1980), 31 O.R.(2d) 520; 119 D.L.R.(3d) 101 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 75].

Nicholson v. Haldimand-Norfolk Regional Board of Commissioners of Police and Ontario (Attorney General), [1979] 1 S.C.R. 311; 23 N.R. 410; 88 D.L.R.(3d) 671; 78 C.L.L.C. 14,181, refd to. [para. 75].

Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 817; 243 N.R. 22, refd to. [para. 76].

Syndicat national des employés de la com­mission scolaire régionale de l'Outaouais (CSN) v. Union des employés de service, local 298 (FTQ), [1988] 2 S.C.R. 1048; 95 N.R. 161; 24 Q.A.C. 244, refd to. [para. 76].

Union des employés de service, local 298 v. Bibeault - see Syndicat national des employés de la commission scolaire régionale de l'Outaouais (CSN) v. Union des employés de service, local 298 (FTQ).

Mount Sinai Hospital Center et al. v. Que­bec (Minister of Health and Social Ser­vices), [2001] 2 S.C.R. 281; 271 N.R. 104, refd to. [para. 84].

Dr. Q., Re (2003), 302 N.R. 34; 179 B.C.A.C. 170; 295 W.A.C. 170 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 84].

Ryan v. Law Society of New Brunswick (2003), 302 N.R. 1; 257 N.B.R.(2d) 207; 674 A.P.R. 207 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 84].

Director of Investigation and Research, Competition Act v. Southam Inc. et al., [1997] 1 S.C.R. 748; 209 N.R. 20; 144 D.L.R.(4th) 1, refd to. [para. 95].

Roncarelli v. Duplessis, [1959] S.C.R. 121, refd to. [para. 96].

Statutes Noticed:

Ministry of Community and Social Ser­vices Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M-20, sect. 13(1) [para. 66].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Evans, Janisch, Mullan and Risk, Ad­ministrative Law, Cases, Text, and Ma­terials (4th Ed.), p. 807 [para. 67].

Counsel:

Andrew J. Roman and Margaret R. Sims, for the applicant, St. Catharines Asso­ciation for Community Living;

John Zarudny and James Kendik, for the respondent.

This application was heard on June 2, 2003, before Lane, Meehan and de Sousa, JJ., of the Ontario Divisional Court. The following judgment of the Divisional Court was delivered by Meehan, J., and was re­leased on September 8, 2003.