Summary

Keywords

Administrative law - Judicial review, Appeal.

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.

Administrative law – Judicial review – Appeal – Leave to Appeal – Whether applicant raises a legal issue – Whether issue is of public importance.

The applicant’s application for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council research grant was reviewed by a committee that included professors employed by various universities in Canada. A research grant was denied. The applicant made access-to-information requests to the Research Council and the committee members’ employers. From the respondent, it requested access to emails containing his name that were sent or received by one of its employees who was a committee member. Relying on a statement from the employee, the respondent responded to the applicant that there were no responsive records. The applicant asked the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta to review the response. An adjudicator was appointed. The adjudicator refused to allow the applicant to tender fresh evidence in camera. She then held that there was no evidence that responsive records existed. She held that the University of Calgary had conducted a reasonable search and met its duty under section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. F-25. The applicant applied for judicial review and again sought to file fresh evidence. The applications to file fresh evidence and for judicial review were dismissed. The applicant appealed. The appeal was dismissed.