Valosphère secures a major victory before the Court of Appeal, dismissing the AMP’s application to annul the stay of its decision.
The AMP sought to lift this stay, which removed Valosphère from the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (“RENA”) until judgment on the merits. Registration on the RENA would have disastrous and potentially fatal consequences on business.
The AMP argued that the Superior Court granted the stay by downplaying the importance of the appearance of right test, relying solely on irreparable harm.
The Honourable Suzanne Gagné, J.C.A., rejected these arguments and highlighted several key points, namely:
- the issues of procedural fairness and natural justice raised by Valosphère are neither frivolous nor vexatious, as they concern the scope and exercise of the AMP’s powers;
- these issues are serious enough to warrant the continuation of the stay granted by the Superior Court;
- since Vavilov, questions of jurisdiction are subject to the reasonableness standard of review, even if there is a privative clause; and
- the judgment in MSI Spergel inc. (Neptune Security Services Inc.) c. Autorité des marchés publics, 2024 QCCA 1134, is not tantamount to a Court of Appeal decision upholding the merits of the trial court’s judgment, and is thus not binding.
This ruling represents an important victory for Valosphère. The decision confirms the continuation of the stay until the hearing of the judicial review and points out that the AMP’s decision to refuse to impose corrective measures at its sole discretion, under section 21.48.4 of the Act respecting contracting by public bodies, has not yet been confirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Fasken represented Valosphère in this matter with a team consisting of Marc James Tacheji, Catherine Simonet and Nikie Boillat-Proulx.
Jurisdiction
- Québec
