Saint-Quentin (Town) v. New Brunswick, (2016) 447 N.B.R.(2d) 308 (TD)

• Judge: LaVigne, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick (Canada)
• Case Date: March 10, 2016
• Jurisdiction: New Brunswick
• Citations: (2016), 447 N.B.R.(2d) 308 (TD);2016 NBQB 67

Saint-Quentin v. N.B. (2016), 447 N.B.R.(2d) 308 (TD);

    447 R.N.-B.(2e) 308; 1171 A.P.R. 308

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Sommaire et texte intégral

[French language version follows English language version]

[La version française vient à la suite de la version anglaise]

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Temp. Cite: [2016] N.B.R.(2d) TBEd. AP.030

Renvoi temp.: [2016] N.B.R.(2d) TBEd. AP.030

Saint-Quentin, a municipality pursuant to Reg. 85-6 enacted under the Municipalities Act, R.S.N.B. 1973, c. M-22 (applicant) v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of New Brunswick, as represented by the Minister of Government Services and Service New Brunswick and Province of New Brunswick (respondents)

(C/M/16/2015; 2016 NBQB 67; 2016 NBBR 67)

Indexed As: Saint-Quentin (Town) v. New Brunswick

Répertorié: Saint-Quentin (Town) v. New Brunswick

New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench

Trial Division

Judicial District of Campbellton

LaVigne, J.

March 23, 2016.

Summary:

Résumé:

On March 31, 2015, in the New Brunswick budget, the Minister of Finance announced the closure of the Town of Saint-Quentin Service New Brunswick office without providing a date. On June 2, 2015, the Minister of Government Services (Doherty) notified the Town that the closure date was July 31, 2015. On July 27, 2015, the Town applied for judicial review. The Town also moved for an interlocutory mandatory injunction to keep the centre open until the application was determined.

The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, in a decision reported 440 N.B.R.(2d) 205; 1148 A.P.R. 205, dismissed the motion for the interlocutory injunction. The Province and Service New Brunswick moved for summary dismissal of the judicial review application, claiming that it was filed beyond the three month-limitation period in rule 69.03. The Province argued that the decision complained of was made on March 31, 2015, whereas the Town submitted that it was complaining of the Minister's decision of June 2015.

The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, in a decision reported 441 N.B.R.(2d) 168; 1152 A.P.R. 168, concluded that the decision the Town was seeking to have quashed was the decision to close the Saint-Quentin office on July 31, 2015. Minister Doherty informed the Town of that decision on June 2, 2015. The application was, therefore, commenced within three months of the date of the decision complained of. The motion by the Province and Service New Brunswick was dismissed. The application proceeded on the merits.

The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the application.

Administrative Law - Topic 2267

Natural justice - The duty of fairness - Reasonable expectation or legitimate expectation - [See first Crown - Topic 674 ].

Crown - Topic 674

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Particular cases - Following an announcement in the provincial budget, the Minister of Government Services notified the Town of Saint-Quentin that its Service New Brunswick office would be closed on July 31, 2015 - The Town applied for judicial review of the Minister's decision, alleging a breach of the rules of natural justice (i.e., the doctrine of legitimate expectations) - The Town claimed that legitimate expectations were raised by the Minister by setting out in a letter, criteria that he claimed led to the decision to close the Saint-Quentin office and by subsequently changing those criteria - The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, held the Minister's conduct in this case did not give rise to the doctrine of legitimate expectations - Here, there was never a promise to consult - The court rejected all allegations of breach of procedural fairness made against the Minister - See paragraphs 19 to 55.

Crown - Topic 674

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Particular cases - Following an announcement in the provincial budget, the Minister of Government Services notified the Town of Saint-Quentin that its Service New Brunswick office would be closed on July 31, 2015 - The Town applied for judicial review of the Minister's decision, claiming that it was unreasonable - The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, held that it was not for the court to review and weigh the evidence, nor to determine the wisdom of the Minister's decision - The Minister did not explain why he decided to close the Saint-Quentin office, nor was he obliged to do so - "The disputed decision is a policy decision pertaining to the allocation of the province's financial resources based on public policy considerations. It is for the government, and not the courts, to weigh and compare the merits of the different social, economic and political considerations that come into play in making a decision. There is nothing to compel the Minister to choose the optimal option. It is a discretionary decision, as are all policy decisions. The Minister could have made a different decision. The government could have decided to close the SNB office located in Kedgwick or elsewhere, but it decided to close the one in Saint-Quentin" - See paragraphs 56 to 62.

Crown - Topic 685

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Administrative or policy decisions - Appeals or judicial review - The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, discussed when it was appropriate for a court to intervene in a ministerial decision - The court stated that "The courts' intervention is reserved for those cases where the Minister exercised his discretion in a discriminatory, unfair, capricious, arbitrary or unreasonable manner. Where the discretion granted by legislation was exercised in good faith and, where required, in accordance with the principles of natural justice, courts should not interfere with a minister's decision if the decision was not based on considerations that are irrelevant or extraneous to the statutory purpose" - See paragraph 8.

Crown - Topic 685

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Administrative or policy decisions - Appeals or judicial review - The Province of New Brunswick closed the Service New Brunswick service centre in the Town of Saint-Quentin - The Town applied for judicial review - The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, discussed the standard of review - The court stated that "The case law has satisfactorily established that judicial assessment of the appropriateness of the ministerial decision on the merits calls for the 'reasonableness' standard as now understood since the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick ... However, no deferential standard applies in cases of procedural fairness, that is, with regard to the manner in which the Minister reached his decision. I must simply determine if the rules of procedural fairness have been respected" - See paragraph 9.

Crown - Topic 685

Authority of Ministers - Exercise of - Administrative or policy decisions - Appeals or judicial review - [See second Crown - Topic 674 ].

Cases Noticed:

Kennedy et al. v. New Brunswick (Minister of Education) (2015), 444 N.B.R.(2d) 92; 1163 A.P.R. 92; 2015 NBCA 58, refd to. [para. 7].

Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. v. Canada and Canada (Minister of Economic Development), [1982] 2 S.C.R. 2; 44 N.R. 354, refd to. [para. 8].

Mr. Shredding Waste Management Ltd. v. New Brunswick (Minister of Environment and Local Government) (2003), 264 N.B.R.(2d) 323; 691 A.P.R. 323; 2003 NBQB 243, affd. (2004), 274 N.B.R.(2d) 340; 718 A.P.R. 340; 2004 NBCA 69, refd to. [para. 8].

New Brunswick (Board of Management) v. Dunsmuir (2008), 372 N.R. 1; 329 N.B.R.(2d) 1; 844 A.P.R. 1; 2008 SCC 9, refd to. [para. 9].

Agraira v. Canada (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) et al. (2013), 446 N.R. 65; 2013 SCC 36, refd to. [para. 20].

Counsel:

Avocats:

Basile Chiasson, Q.C., for the applicant;

Pierre Ouellette, for the respondents.

This application was heard on March 10, 2016, before LaVigne, J., of the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, Judicial District of Campbellton, who delivered the following decision on March 23, 2016.