TORONTO—The Centre for Free Expression, BC Civil Liberties Association, and Animal Justice are pleased with an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that reaffirms legislatures cannot entirely shield executive decisions from judicial review.
The three organizations, represented by lawyers with Haki Chambers Global and Mani Kakkar Law, successfully sought intervener status in an appeal brought by Democracy Watch regarding a lower court decision denying the group leave to challenge Ontario Integrity Commissioner rulings related to lobbyist activities.
Though the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, the Centre for Free Expression’s director, James L. Turk, applauded the language in the decision that strengthens access to justice for public interest groups.
“While the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, it is important to note that it recognized a legitimate role for public interest standing in suitable cases—one which cannot be precluded by legislatures,” Mr. Turk said.
BC Civil Liberties Association litigation director Vibert Jack also welcomed the decision’s recognition of the value of public interest standing in judicial reviews.
“The Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the need for a flexible, cumulative, and proportionate balancing when deciding whether to grant public interest standing. It is clear from this decision that public interest standing to bring a judicial review will always remain possible in appropriate cases. This ensures that a critical tool will be available to those of us working to hold governments to account,” Mr. Jack said.
“We are pleased that the Court of Appeal accepted our argument that legislatures cannot shield executive decisions from judicial review entirely, and therefore, that it is possible to grant standing to public interest litigants even when private litigants with standing choose not to do so,” said lawyer Sujit Choudhry, who represented the three groups in the case.
Animal Justice’s director of legal advocacy, Kaitlyn Mitchell, emphasized that this decision is particularly significant for those advocating for animals, who often have no direct legal voice.
“Public interest standing is essential for ensuring that courts remain accessible for those fighting to protect animals, whose interests are too often overlooked in our legal system. This decision reaffirms that governments cannot simply shut the courthouse doors on advocates working to hold them accountable,” Ms. Mitchell said.
Contact:
Sujit Choudhry
sujit.choudhry@hakichambers.com
James L. Turk
cfe@torontomu.ca
Director, Centre for Free Expression
Vibert Jack
Litigation Director. BC Civil Liberties Association
vibert@bccla.org
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager, Animal Justice
jlynn@animaljustice.ca
Kaitlyn Mitchell
Director of Legal Advocacy, Animal Justice
kmitchell@animaljustice.ca
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