Mark Mancini
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Fair is Fair
The requirements of due process are often minimal, but still important. Continue reading
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A “Bright” Signal for Canada? Farewell to Chevron Deference
In Loper Bright, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the long-standing judicial review doctrine of Chevron deference. The decision has been met with all manner of criticism and celebration. There is no doubt that Loper Bright sends an important and valuable signal: it is the judicial role to decide questions of law, wherever Continue reading
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Sotto Voce
The Supreme Court has an inexplicable habit, especially in administrative law. Much has been written about the Court’s uneasy—to put it mildly—relationship with precedent. Especially after Bedford/Carter, which expanded the grounds on which previous precedents can be discarded, stare decisis is less of a hard-and-fast rule and more of an option in hard cases. But Continue reading
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The Metastasis of Charter Vibes…Again
**A version of this appeared in my newsletter, the Sunday Evening Administrative Review** For the two years or so that I have been doing this newsletter, the story has been a good one. Vavilov settled the law of judicial review to such a considerable extent that I found myself optimistic about the state of things. However, this Continue reading
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A Defense of Doctrine
Sometime ago, I was doing a presentation on the recent doctrine in a particularly contentious area of law at a Canadian law school. The presentation was designed to show how developments in the doctrine were inconsistent with fundamental principles underlying the doctrine, and that the doctrine should therefore be adjusted. I’m remaining at a high Continue reading
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Simplicity in the Law of Judicial Review of Regulations: Auer and TransAlta
This post is derived from this week’s edition of my newsletter, the Sunday Evening Administrative Review. ______________________________________________ Auer v Auer, 2022 ABCA 375 (November 22, 2022); TransAlta Generation Partnership v Alberta (Minister of Municipal Affairs), 2022 ABCA 381 (November 23, 2022) Context and Holding: In these decisions, the ABCA deals with the question of how Continue reading
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The Metastasis of Charter Vibes
The rigamarole around the notwithstanding clause this week has me thinking about the reach of the Charter, and in particular, a case that will be heard by the SCC early next year: A.B. v Northwest Territories. While there are other issues in the case, at its heart is a stark proposition: is it required for Continue reading
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Our Democratic Deficit
Much is made of Canada’s storied democratic heritage, and on this front, there is much to celebrate. But there is also a dark side that has, from time to time—and these days, more frequently—reared its ugly head: the spectre of a parliamentary process that does not encourage either the participation or the deliberation at the Continue reading
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“Bureaucratese”
Newly-minted Leader of His Majesty’s Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, recently announced that he plans to propose a “plain-language law” to tackle “bureaucratese.” According to Poilievre, bureaucratese “costs the economy a fortune.” His proposal will “require government publications to use the fewest and simplest words needed to state information.” Now, much of this proposal is probably Continue reading
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The Post-Vavilov Supreme Court and Administrative Law
Reason for optimism? After the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Abrametz and ESA (both of which are summarized and analyzed in my newsletter here and here, respectively), there is much to say. But I just want to quickly identify one emerging trend: the centrifugal force of the principles in Vavilov in areas of administrative law Continue reading
Double Aspect 