Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
38828
Corporation of the City of Victoria v. Canadian Plastic Bag Association
(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-01-30 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2020-01-24 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2020-01-24 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2020-01-23 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA45452, 2019 BCCA 254, dated July 11, 2019, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2019-12-16 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2019-11-18 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-11-18 | Corporation of the City of Victoria |
| 2019-11-07 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A | Canadian Plastic Bag Association |
| 2019-11-07 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Canadian Plastic Bag Association |
| 2019-11-07 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-11-07 | Canadian Plastic Bag Association |
| 2019-10-09 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2019-10-09 | |
| 2019-09-27 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A | Corporation of the City of Victoria |
| 2019-09-27 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Corporation of the City of Victoria |
| 2019-09-27 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), MISSING amended notice of appeal (rec' 2019-09-27), Completed on: 2019-09-27 | Corporation of the City of Victoria |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation of the City of Victoria | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Plastic Bag Association | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Corporation of the City of Victoria
Counsel
Carrie A. Moffatt
1 Centennial Square
Victoria, British Columbia
V8W 1P6
Telephone: (250) 361-0547
FAX: (250) 361-0525
Email: tzworski@victoria.ca
Agent
900 - 275 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5H9
Telephone: (613) 691-1224
FAX: (613) 691-1338
Email: mdillon@supremelawgroup.ca
Party: Canadian Plastic Bag Association
Counsel
Nathalie J. Baker
1744 - 1055 Dunsmuir Street
PO Box 49254
Vancouver, British Columbia
V7X 1L2
Telephone: (604) 899-5208
FAX: (604) 899-5216
Email: rparsons@eyfordpartners.com
Agent
160 Elgin Street, Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-0171
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: jeff.beedell@gowlingwlg.com
Summary
Keywords
Municipal law — By laws — Validity — Municipality enacting bylaw prohibiting merchants from providing plastic bags to customers on check out — Municipality empowered to regulate in relation to business but required to obtain agreement or approval of province to regulate in relation to protection of natural environment — Chambers judge holding bylaw regulating in relation to business — Court of appeal holding bylaw related to protection of the environment — Whether a municipal bylaw that is motivated in part by environmental concerns is inherently an environmental bylaw that can only be adopted under a power to regulate in relation to the environment — Community Charter, S.B.C. 2003, c. 26, ss. 8, 9 — City of Victoria Bylaw No. 18 008, Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
In January 2018, the City of Victoria (“Victoria”) enacted a bylaw prohibiting merchants from providing plastic bags to customers on check out and requiring that any bags made available be paper or reusable bags and that customers be required to pay a fee for them. Victoria had delegated authority from the province under the Community Charter, S.B.C. 2003, c. 26, to regulate in relation to business. The Community Charter also allowed it to enact bylaws in relation to protection of the natural environment but only if it had entered into an agreement with the province or gotten the approval of the Minister of Environment, which Victoria had not done for this bylaw.
The Canadian Plastic Bag Association filed a petition for judicial review of the bylaw, seeking a declaration that the bylaw was ultra vires Victoria and an order quashing it. At first instance, the judge found that the bylaw was properly characterized as a bylaw regulating in relation to business. The Court of Appeal overturned that decision, holding that the bylaw related to the protection of the environment and quashing it.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
2018 BCSC 1007, S180740
Respondent’s petition for an order setting aside the City of Victoria’s Bylaw No. 18 008, the “Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw”, dismissed
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Victoria)
2019 BCCA 254, CA45452
Respondent’s appeal allowed; bylaw quashed
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available