PRACTICE |
Stay of Proceedings |
Canada (Attorney General) v. Canada (Information Commissioner)
A-675-00
Noël J.A.
8/11/00
6 pp.
Motion to stay judicial review application pending before Trial Division in Court file T-1640-00, operation of paragraph 4 of order of McKeown J. providing for application to proceed on expedited basis--Information Commissioner of Canada, in course of investigating complaint made under Access to Information Act, caused subpoenas to be issued to individual respondents--Respondents filing judicial review application before Trial Division seeking to have subpoenas set aside--In order to succeed, Commissioner must satisfy Court appeal raises serious issue, irreparable harm will be suffered if requested stay not granted, balance of convenience favours grant of stay--Whether Parliament intended eventual disclosure (or non-disclosure) of information sought by complainant to be governed by process provided for under Act or whether alternative procedure authorized by order under appeal also open to respondents--Serious issue raised by Commissioner--Jurisprudence of Court clearly establishing issue ought to be dealt with on merits of judicial review application, not on motion to strike--Rule established in David Bull Laboratories (Canada) Inc. v. Pharmacia Inc., [1995] 1 F.C. 588 not absolute--Party may seek to quash judicial review application by motion to strike where application so clearly improper as to be bereft of any possibility of success--Second requirement met by Commissioner--Harm resulting from failure to exercise duty mandated by statute where duty ought to have been exercised by definition irreparable, cannot be cured--Balance of convenience also weighs in favour of grant of stay--Motion allowed--Access to Information Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. A-1.