Board of Education of Sturgeon School Division No. 24 et al. v. Alberta et al., (2000) 272 A.R. 190 (QB)

• Judge: Lewis, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: April 05, 2000
• Citations: (2000), 272 A.R. 190 (QB)

Sturgeon School Bd. v. Alta. (2000), 272 A.R. 190 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2000] A.R. TBEd. SE.091

The Board of Trustees of Sturgeon School Division No. 24 and Leslie Gail Whitney (plaintiffs) v. Her Majesty the Queen in Rights of Alberta, The Lieutenant Governor-in-Council, The Minister of Learning and The Board of Trustees of Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division No. 29 (defendants)

(No. 0003-02245)

Indexed As: Board of Education of Sturgeon School Division No. 24 et al. v. Alberta et al.

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial District of Edmonton

Lewis, J.

April 5, 2000.

Summary:

The plaintiffs, a public school board and a taxpayer, applied for an interlocutory injunc­tion to prevent the Board of Trustees of Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Divi­sion from establishing a Bellerose Separate School District, that is by amalgamation or regionalization with the St. Albert public system. The named defendants were the Board, the Province of Alberta and the Minister of Learning.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dis­missed the application.

Constitutional Law - Topic 9546

Education - Separate or denominational schools - Alberta - [See Crown - Topic 4430 ].

Crown - Topic 4430

Actions by and against Crown in right of a province - Proceedings against the Crown Acts - Actions authorized by Acts - The plaintiffs, a public school board and a taxpayer, applied for an interlocutory injunction to prevent the Board of Trustees of Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division from establish­ing a Bellerose Separate School District - The named defendants were the Board, the Province of Alberta and the Minister of Learning - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dis­missed the application - Section 17 of the Proceedings against the Crown Act (Alta.), barred injunctive relief against the Crown here - If the Act did not apply, the appli­cant public school board did not establish a serious question to be tried in that it did not have the constitutional rights that the minority faith electors in Bellerose had - The applicant also failed to establish irrep­arable harm and a favourable balance of convenience - See paragraphs 1 to 17.

Injunctions - Topic 1616

Interlocutory or interim injunctions - General principles - Arguable issues of law involved or serious question to be tried - [See Crown - Topic 4430 ].

Cases Noticed:

Jacobi v. Board of Education of Aqueduct Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 374 et al. (1994), 150 A.R. 34 (Q.B.), consd. [para. 5].

Counsel:

D. Gibson and R. Jeerakathil, for the Board of Trustees of Sturgeon School District and Leslie Gail Whitney;

K. Feehan, for the Board of Trustees of Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division;

M. Unsworth, for Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta, the Lieutenant Gov­ernor-in-Council and the Minister of Learning.

Lewis, J., of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial District of Edmonton, heard this application and delivered the following oral decision on April 5, 2000.