Federal Court of Appeal Education Seminar Fall 2018

Overview

Focused on new developments in administrative law and reforms in the areas of access to information and privacy, this seminar addressed the legalization of cannabis in the context of labour law and explored strategies for optimizing productivity in appellate courts.

Objectives

This program informed participants on new issues in administrative law and the principles of substantive judicial review, provided an update on proposed amendments to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, and addressed the implications of the legalization of cannabis in the workplace. Practical sessions on issues involving self-represented litigants, the drafting of judgments, reserving judgments and oral judgments were designed to explore methods to increase the efficiency of appellate courts.

Summary

Led by appellate court judges, retired judges and legal academics, and presented through a combination of presentations and interactive question and answer sessions, this seminar addressed the following topics: significant proposed amendments to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, the objectives of these proposed amendments and their implications for the Court; workplace adjustment measures related to the use of medicinal cannabis, and the impact on the workplace of the legalization of recreational cannabis; the method for determining the appropriate standard of review; judicial review based on the standard of the reasonableness of insufficiently reasoned or unreasoned decisions; the framework for the review of discretionary decisions involving the Charter; and various “lessons learned” and practical guidance for enhancing the efficiency of appellate courts and promoting communication.