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.
41448
Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia v. Attorney General of British Columbia
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-07 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2025-03-06 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2025-03-06 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2025-03-06 |
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 CA49038, 2024 BCCA 233, dated June 24, 2024, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2025-01-27 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2024-10-31 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2024-11-01, (Printed version filed on 2024-11-01) | Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia |
| 2024-10-23 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A, (Printed version filed on 2024-10-24) | Attorney General of British Columbia |
| 2024-10-23 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2024-10-23, (Printed version filed on 2024-10-24) | Attorney General of British Columbia |
| 2024-09-23 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED | |
| 2024-09-19 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2024-09-20) | Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia |
| 2024-09-19 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A, (Printed version filed on 2024-09-20) | Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia |
| 2024-09-19 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2024-09-20, (Printed version filed on 2024-09-20) | Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General of British Columbia | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia
Counsel
Kristen Worbanski
724-240 Graham Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 0J7
Telephone: (204) 926-1501
FAX: (204) 956-0625
Email: sdawes@myersfirm.com
Agent
340 Gilmour Street
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Attorney General of British Columbia
Counsel
Andrew D. Gay, K.C.
Clayton R. Gallant
2525 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 3C9
Telephone: (604) 685-6272
FAX: (604) 685-8434
Email: skg@lawgm.com
Agent
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0J8
Telephone: (613) 282-1712
FAX: (613) 288-2896
Email: msobkin@sympatico.ca
Summary
Keywords
Constitutional law — Judicial independence — Judicial remuneration — Whether Court of Appeal erred in dismissing application for review of government’s variation of judicial compensation commission recommendations
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 2019, British Columbia’s Judicial Compensation Commission issued its report making recommendations on judicial remuneration for the following three years (the “Report”). The Report recommended salary increases and reimbursement of legal costs for the Commission process. In July 2020, the government of British Columbia released its response to the Report (the “Response”). The Response recommended salary increases and legal costs reimbursement that were lower than what the Report recommended. The Legislative Assembly adopted two motions implementing the Response. The applicant sought judicial review of the Response.
The chambers judge granted the application. She found that rejection of the legal costs recommendation in the Report was arbitrary and failed to engage with the Commission’s reasoning, and that the government’s collective bargaining mentality did not respect the judicial compensation process overall, or permit it to achieve its purpose in maintaining judicial independence.
The Court of Appeal held that the chambers judge was insufficiently deferential to the government’s Response. There is no presumption in favour of a commission’s recommendations, and governments are permitted to re-weigh the relevant factors determining judicial compensation, provided they do so rationally. In this case, they did so in response to changed economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Payment of legal costs is subject to a valid statutory limit and it was appropriate for the government to rely on that limit. The appeal was allowed.
Lower court rulings
Application for judicial review granted with costs. Decisions of Legislative Assembly on two motions quashed; motions remitted to Assembly for reconsideration.
Appeal allowed. Order of Supreme Court set aside and application for judicial review dismissed. Parties to bear their own costs of application and appeal.
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