Sutton v. Canada (Attorney General)
The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Federal Court judge’s conclusion that the decision to limit the independent third party review to the manager named on the form was reasonable and not arbitrary and that no error of law warranted intervention, therefore the appeal was dismissed.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2007 FCA 165
- Parties
- Appellant: Debbie Sutton; Respondent: Attorney General of Canada
- Court
- Federal Court of Appeal
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 26 April 2007
- Procedural Posture
- Judicial Review Appeal / Appeal to Federal Court of Appeal
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed with costs
- Legal Topics
- Judicial Review, Reasonableness, Interpretation of Application Forms, Independent Third Party Review
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Debbie Sutton
Appellant
Attorney General of Canada
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review Appeal / Appeal to Federal Court of Appeal
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Operational and Management Services Adviser’s limitation of independent third party review to the manager named on the form was lawful
- 2 Whether the decision-maker applied an overly technical and narrow construction of the application form and related guidelines
- 3 Whether the Federal Court judge erred in finding the decision reasonable and non-arbitrary
Ratio Decidendi
The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Federal Court judge’s conclusion that the decision to limit the independent third party review to the manager named on the form was reasonable and not arbitrary and that no error of law warranted intervention, therefore the appeal was dismissed.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed with costs
Orders
- Appeal dismissed with costs to the respondent
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Sutton v. Canada (Attorney General) Court (s) Database Federal Court of Appeal Decisions Date 2007-04-26 Neutral citation 2007 FCA 165 File numbers A-335-06 Decision Content Date: 20070426 Docket: A-335-06 Citation: 2007 FCA 165 CORAM: RICHARD C.J. SHARLOW J.A. PELLETIER J.A. BETWEEN: DEBBIE SUTTON Appellant and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA Respondent Heard at Ottawa, Ontario, on April 26, 2007. Judgment delivered from the Bench at Ottawa, Ontario, on April 26, 2007. REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT BY: SHARLOW J.A. Date: 20070426 Docket: A-335-06 Citation: 2007 FCA 165 CORAM: RICHARD C.J. SHARLOW J.A. PELLETIER J.A. BETWEEN: DEBBIE SUTTON Appellant and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA Respondent REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Delivered from the Bench at Ottawa, Ontario, on April 26, 2007) SHARLOW J.A. [1] This is an appeal from the decision of a Judge of the Federal Court (2006 FC 848) dismissing an application for judicial review of a decision dated October 5, 2004 by the Operational and Management Services Adviser of the Canada Revenue Agency that the appellant’s application for independent third party review of a staffing decision was to be read as limited to only the manager named on her form. [2] The appellant argued that this decision cannot stand because it is based on too technical and narrow a construction of the application form and related guidelines. The Judge did not accept that argument and found that the decision under review was reasonable and not arbitrary. We are unable to detect any error of law or other error on the part of the Judge that warrants the intervention of this Court. [3] This appeal will be dismissed with costs of the appeal. “K. Sharlow” J.A. FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD DOCKET: A-335-06 (APPEAL FROM A JUDGMENT OF THE HONOURABLE PAUL U.C. ROULEAU DATED JULY 5, 2006, DOCKET NO. 2006 FC 848) STYLE OF CAUSE: DEBBIE SUTTON v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA PLACE OF HEARING: OTTAWA, ONTARIO DATE OF HEARING: APRIL 26, 2007 REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT BY: RICHARD C.J., SHARLOW J.A. & PELLETIER J.A. DELIVERED FROM THE BENCH BY: SHARLOW J.A. APPEARANCES: David Yazbeck FOR THE APPELLANT Alex Kaufman FOR THE RESPONDENT SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP Ottawa, Ontario FOR THE APPELLANT John H. Sims, Q.C. Deputy Attorney General of Canada Ottawa, Ontario FOR THE RESPONDENT