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.
41576
Democracy Watch v. Attorney General of Canada
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-30 | Notice of intervention respecting a constitutional question, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2025-07-02, (Printed version filed on 2025-07-02) | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2025-06-30 | Notice of intervention respecting a constitutional question, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2025-07-02, (Printed version filed on 2025-06-30) | Attorney General of Alberta |
| 2025-06-30 | Notice of intervention respecting a constitutional question, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2025-07-02, (Printed version due on 2025-07-08) | Attorney General of Saskatchewan |
| 2025-06-27 | Notice of intervention respecting a constitutional question, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2025-06-30, (Printed version filed on 2025-06-27) | Attorney General of British Columbia |
| 2025-06-03 | Notice of change of counsel | Attorney General of Canada |
| 2025-06-02 | Notice of constitutional question(s), (Letter Form), Missing: proof of service (rec'd 2025-06-10), Completed on: 2025-06-12 | Democracy Watch |
| 2025-06-02 |
Notice of appeal, Missing: proof of service, Incomplete |
Democracy Watch |
| 2025-05-01 |
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-169-21, 2024 FCA 158, dated October 2, 2024, is granted with costs in the cause. Granted, with costs |
|
| 2025-03-31 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-01-23 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-01-23, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-23) | Democracy Watch |
| 2025-01-14 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-14) | Attorney General of Canada |
| 2025-01-14 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-01-14, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-14) | Attorney General of Canada |
| 2024-12-05 | Notice of change of solicitor | Attorney General of Canada |
| 2024-12-04 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A Amended version required |
Democracy Watch |
| 2024-12-03 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED | |
| 2024-12-02 | Notice of name | Democracy Watch |
| 2024-12-02 |
Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Missing: - Proof of service (Rec'd 12-04-2024) - Form 23A (Rec'd 12-04-2024), Completed on: 2024-12-04, (Printed version filed on 2024-12-10) |
Democracy Watch |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Democracy Watch | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General of Canada | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Telecommunications Association | Intervener | Active |
| Attorney General of British Columbia | Intervener | Active |
| Attorney General of Saskatchewan | Intervener | Active |
| Attorney General of Alberta | Intervener | Active |
| Attorney General of Ontario | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Democracy Watch
Counsel
Paul Daly
250 Front Street West, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2Y1
Telephone: (416) 436-3679
Email: sujit.choudhry@circlebarristers.com
Party: Attorney General of Canada
Counsel
Sarah Drodge
Department of Justice Canada, Civil Litigation Sector
50 O’Connor Street, Suite 500
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 295-0765
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: SCCAgentCorrespondentCSC@justice.gc.ca
Agent
50 O’Connor Street, 5th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 946-2776
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: SCCAgentCorrespondentCSC@justice.gc.ca
Party: Canadian Telecommunications Association
Counsel
Brandon Kain
James S.S. Holton
66 Wellington Street West
Suite 5300, Toronto Dominion Bank Tower
Toronto, Ontario
M5K 1E6
Telephone: (416) 362-1812
FAX: (416) 868-0673
Email: smason@mccarthy.ca
Party: Attorney General of British Columbia
Counsel
Marina Goodwin
1001 Douglas Street, 6th Floor
P.O. Box 9280, Station Prov. Govt.
Victoria, British Columbia
V8W 9J7
Telephone: (250) 952-7559
FAX: (250) 356-9154
Email: zachary.froese@gov.bc.ca
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: Attorney General of Saskatchewan
Counsel
Laura Mazenc
Constitutional Law Branch
820-1874 Scarth St.
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 4B3
Telephone: (306) 787-6642
FAX: (306) 787-9111
Email: theodore.litowski@gov.sk.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Attorney General of Alberta
Counsel
Shaheer Meenai
Adam Ollenberger
Legal Services Division - Civil Litigation
639 5 Avenue SW, Suite 1710
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0M9
Telephone: (403) 662-3825
FAX: (403) 662-3824
Email: Melissa.Burkett@gov.ab.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Attorney General of Ontario
Counsel
Matthew Chung
Constitutional Law Branch
720 Bay Street, 4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2S9
Telephone: (416) 389-2604
Email: ryan.cookson@ontario.ca
Agent
50 O'Connor Street Suite 1313
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 702-5560
FAX: (613) 702-5573
Email: mvincelette@powerlaw.ca
Summary
Keywords
Administrative law — Judicial review — Privative clause — Federal Court of Appeal finding available alternative political remedies combined with relevant provisions of Conflict of Interest Act effectively barring intervention — Application for judicial review dismissed — Whether Ethics Commissioner’s decisions under Conflict of Interest Act subject to judicial review — Whether partial privative clauses bar judicial review — Conflict of Interest Act, S.C. 2006, c. 9, s. 66.
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.
The applicant, Democracy Watch applied for judicial review of a report by the Conflict of Interest Ethics Commissioner. The report concluded that the former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not contravene the Conflict of Interest Act, S.C. 2006, c. 9, s. 2 (the “COIA”) when he participated in two decisions involving WE Charity.
The respondent, Attorney General moved to strike the application, arguing that Democracy Watch lacked standing and that the application was based on grounds barred from judicial review by s. 66 of the COIA, which prevents an applicant from bringing an application for judicial review on questions of law and fact. Under s. 66, the Commissioner’s decisions can only be reviewed on the grounds limited to issues of jurisdiction, procedural fairness, or acting or failing to act “by reason of fraud or perjured evidence.”
On December 5, 2022, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the applicant has public interest standing, but left the issue of whether the application was barred by s. 66 to the panel hearing the application.
The Federal Court of Appeal granted the Attorney General’s motion to strike the application for judicial review.
Lower court rulings
Application to proceed in two stages.
Stage One: Attorney General’s motion to strike was granted. Democracy Watch’s application for judicial review was dismissed.
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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