The Centre for Free Expression, a non-partisan, research, public education, and advocacy centre based in the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University, intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Democracy Watch v. Attorney General of Canada.
This is a significant administrative law case. The Supreme Court of Canada has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of partial privative clauses — i.e., legislative bars that partially foreclose judicial oversight of executive action. The particular case concerns the constitutionality of the partial privative clause in the federal Conflict of Interest Act, but the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision is likely to have broad implications for parties engaging with administrative law processes across industries.
Fasken acted on this intervention with a team led by Abbas Kassam, which included Daniella Murynka and Mathias Memmel. The Centre for Free Expression’s submissions focussed on analytical approaches that would protect the position of public interest litigants seeking to challenge the legality of government conduct.