Evershed v. Ontario (Minister of Education), (1984) 1 O.A.C. 333 (DC)

• Judge: Van Camp, Steele and Smith, JJ.
• Court: Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
• Case Date: February 02, 1984
• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Citations: (1984), 1 O.A.C. 333 (DC)

Evershed v. Ont. (1984), 1 O.A.C. 333 (DC)

MLB headnote and full text

Evershed v. Minister of Education and Waterloo County Board of Education

(No. 763/82)

Indexed As: Evershed v. Ontario (Minister of Education)

Ontario Divisional Court

Van Camp, Steele and Smith, JJ.

February 2, 1984.

Summary:

A school board applied to the Minister of Education for authority to terminate the contract of a grade 5 teacher who was convicted of possession of unlawfully imported pornographic material and possession of marijuana. The Minister, without notice to the teacher and without giving him an opportunity to be heard, cancelled his teaching certificate. The teacher applied for judicial review of the Minister's decision.

The Ontario Divisional Court, Van Camp, J., dissenting, allowed the application and set aside the Minister's decision, because the Minister breached the duty of procedural fairness.

Administrative Law - Topic 2266

Natural justice - The duty of fairness - What constitutes procedural fairness - A grade 5 teacher was convicted of possession of unlawfully imported pornographic material and possession of marijuana - The school board applied to the Minister of Education for authority to terminate the teacher's contract - The Minister, without notice to the teacher and without giving him an opportunity to present his case, cancelled his teaching certificate - The Ontario Divisional Court set aside the Minister's decision and the subsequent termination of the teacher's contract by the school board, because the Minister exercised a statutory power of decision without the proper procedural fairness - See paragraph 10.

Cases Noticed:

Re Nicholson and Haldimand-Norfolk Regional Board of Commissioners of Police, [1979] 1 S.C.R. 311; 23 N.R. 410; 88 D.L.R.(3d) 671, folld. [para. 9].

Glynn v. Keele University, [1971] 1 W.L.R. 496, refd to. [para. 19].

Davis v. Carew-Pole and Others, [1956] 1 W.L.R. 833, refd to. [para. 19].

R. v. Law Society of Alberta; Ex parte Demco (1967), 64 D.L.R.(2d) 140, refd to. [para. 19].

Counsel:

W.W. Markle, Q.C., for the applicant;

J.J. Kelly, Q.C., for the Waterloo County Board of Education;

P.W. Lockett, for the Minister of Education.

This application was heard on October 13 and 14, 1983, before Van Camp, Steele and Smith, JJ., of the Ontario Divisional Court.

On February 2, 1984, the judgment of the Ontario Divisional Court was released and the following opinions were filed:

Steele, J. - paragraphs 1 - 13

Van Camp, J., dissenting - paragraphs 14 - 20

Smith, J., concurred with Steele, J.