Case information
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35191
Olivia Pratten v. Attorney General of British Columbia, et al.
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-06-03 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2013-05-31 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2013-05-31 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2013-05-30 |
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 CA039124, 2012 BCCA 480, dated November 27, 2012, is dismissed without costs. Dismissed, without costs |
|
| 2013-05-06 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Abe Cro | |
| 2013-03-01 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2013-03-01 | Olivia Pratten |
| 2013-02-25 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2013-02-25 | Attorney General of British Columbia |
| 2013-02-18 | Correspondence received from, Return of the C/A order form | Olivia Pratten |
| 2013-01-28 | Correspondence received from, Marie-France Major dated January 28, 2013. Re: Correction to the fax number of the applicant | Olivia Pratten |
| 2013-01-28 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal and without formal Court of Appeal order | |
| 2013-01-25 | Application for leave to appeal, C/A order missing - Rec'd on April 22, 2013, Completed on: 2013-04-22 | Olivia Pratten |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pratten, Olivia | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General of British Columbia | Respondent | Active |
| College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Pratten, Olivia
Counsel
Alison M. Latimer
Sean Hern
Marie-France Major
1320 - 355 Burrard Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 2G8
Telephone: (604) 689-4421
FAX: (888) 575-3281
Email: jarvay@arvayfinlay.com
Agent
397 Gladstone Avenue
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0Y9
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 101
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Attorney General of British Columbia
Counsel
Bryant Mackey
1001 Douglas Street
Constitutional division, 6th floor
Victoria, British Columbia
V8V 1X4
Telephone: (250) 356-8892
FAX: (250) 356-9154
Email: leah.greathead@gov.bc.ca
Agent
441 MacLaren Street
Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2H3
Telephone: (613) 236-9665
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com
Party: College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia
Counsel
1000 - 840 Howe Street
Robson Court
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2M1
Telephone: (604) 643-1281
FAX: (604) 643-1200
Email: jshewfelt@millerthomson.ca
Summary
Keywords
None.
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.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Right to equality – Discrimination based on analogous ground of conception – Right to life, liberty and security of the person - Fundamental justice – Right of the offspring resulting from human reproductive technology to information about their biological history - Can a law that is generally ameliorative make distinctions on the basis of enumerated or analogous grounds which are not ameliorative and do not advance the law’s ameliorative purpose - Should s. 7 of the Charter be interpreted to encompass positive rights to life, liberty and security of the person – Charter ss. 1, 7, 15(1), 15(2), and 52.
The applicant was conceived in 1982 through an artificial insemination procedure. Her parents knew that the donor would remain anonymous. The doctor who performed the procedure no longer has any records about it, but informed the applicant that the donor was a Caucasian medical student of stocky build, brown hair, blue eyes and type “A” blood.
The applicant felt that part of her identity was missing. She worried about the implications of lacking information about her medical history, and wondered why rights that had been legislated for adoptees had not been extended to donor offspring. She commenced an action claiming that: i) by enacting legislation only for the benefit of adoptees, the legislature impermissibly discriminated against donor offspring, contrary to s. 15(1) of the Charter; and ii) the legislature’s failure to enact legislation to facilitate donor offspring obtaining information about their biological origins violates a free-standing positive right guaranteed by s. 7 of the Charter. The Supreme Court of British Columbia granted a declaration that the Adoption Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 5 and portions of the regulation are of no force and effect, being an unjustifiable contravention of s. 15 of the Charter. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia granted the Crown’s appeal, dismissed the cross-appeal, and set aside the lower court order.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
S087449, 2011 BCSC 656
Declaration that the Adoption Act and portions of Adoption Regulation are of no force and effect, being an unjustifiable contravention of s. 15 of the Charter; Declaration suspended for 15 months; Permanent injunction granted prohibiting destruction, disposal, redaction or transfer of gamete donor records
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA039124, 2012 BCCA 480
Appeal allowed; Cross-appeal dismissed; lower court order set aside
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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 filing 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
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Related links
Factums on appeal
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
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