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.
38942
Oceanex Inc. v. Canada (Minister of Transport), et al.
(Federal) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-08 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2020-03-27 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2020-03-27 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2020-03-26 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Number A-113-18, 2019 FCA 250, dated October 10, 2019, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2020-02-24 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2020-02-03 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B | Oceanex Inc. |
| 2020-02-03 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-02-03 | Oceanex Inc. |
| 2020-01-22 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B required: amended copy (amended 23B rec'd 2020/02/26) |
Canada (Minister of Transport) |
| 2020-01-22 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A | Canada (Minister of Transport) |
| 2020-01-22 |
Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), required: amended 23B (rec'd 2020/02/26) form 14 (rec'd standing notice of name 2020/02/26), Completed on: 2020-02-26 |
Canada (Minister of Transport) |
| 2020-01-21 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Marine Atlantic Inc. |
| 2020-01-21 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B | Marine Atlantic Inc. |
| 2020-01-21 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A | Marine Atlantic Inc. |
| 2020-01-21 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-01-21 | Marine Atlantic Inc. |
| 2020-01-07 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B | Oceanex Inc. |
| 2019-12-11 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2019-12-11 | |
| 2019-12-09 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Oceanex Inc. |
| 2019-12-09 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A amended 23A rec'd 2020/01/07 amended 23A rec'd 2020/02/27 |
Oceanex Inc. |
| 2019-12-09 |
Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), required: 23B (rec'd 2020/01/07), Completed on: 2020-01-07 |
Oceanex Inc. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oceanex Inc. | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Minister of Transport) | Respondent | Active |
| Marine Atlantic Inc. | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Oceanex Inc.
Counsel
Nadia Effendi
Ashley Thomassen
Neil Abraham
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
3400 - 22 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 4E3
Telephone: (416) 367-6000
FAX: (416) 367-6749
Email: gpratte@blgcanada.com
Agent
World Exchange Plaza
100 Queen Street, suite 1300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J9
Telephone: (613) 787-3562
FAX: (613) 230-8842
Email: neffendi@blg.com
Party: Canada (Minister of Transport)
Counsel
Kathleen McManus
National Litigation Sector
120 Adelaide Street West, Suite 400
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 1T1
Telephone: (647) 407-9205
FAX: (416) 952-4518
Email: joseph.cheng@justice.gc.ca
Party: Marine Atlantic Inc.
Counsel
Peter Hogg
199 Bay Street, Suite 4000
Commerce Court West
Toronto, Ontario
M5L 1A9
Telephone: (416) 863-3859
FAX: (416) 863-2653
Email: jeff.galway@blakes.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
Transportation law — Marine transportation — Administrative law — Judicial review —Jurisdiction — Does the National Transportation Policy, as set out in the Canada Transportation Act, SC 1996, c 10, s 5, apply to all matters concerning all modes of transportation under federal jurisdiction, and, if it does, is its application negated by the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada — Is the Minister of Transport's decision to recommend a Crown corporation's corporate plan under s. 122(1) of the Financial Administration Act, RSC 1985, c F 11, subject to judicial review?
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.
(COURT FILE CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION BY THE PUBLIC)
Oceanex Inc. is a short sea shipping and intermodal freight transportation carrier with three vessels which provide commercial freight services between the ports of Halifax, Montreal, and St. John’s in Newfoundland. Marine Atlantic Inc. is a federally owned Crown corporation providing ferry service between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The ferry service is constitutionally required as part of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada. Marine Atlantic is heavily subsidized by the government of Canada to ensure accessibility to Newfoundland in fulfillment of this obligation. Oceanex and Marine Atlantic are direct competitors. In January 2016, Marine Atlantic announced that rates on the constitutional route would increase by 2.6%. The rate change became effective on April 1, 2016. Oceanex submitted an application for judicial review of the rate increase arguing that the Minister of Transport allowed Marine Atlantic to charge heavily subsidized rates and compete unfairly. The Federal Court dismissed the application for judicial review which was upheld on appeal by the Federal Court of Appeal.
Lower court rulings
Federal Court
2018 FC 250, T-348-16
Application for judicial review of rate changes for marine transportation to and from Newfoundland dismissed.
Federal Court of Appeal
2019 FCA 250, A-113-18
Appeal dismissed.
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