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Highlands District Community Association v. British Columbia (Attorney General)

Filing Date: 2021
Reporter Info: 2021 BCCA 232
Status: Decided
Case Categories:
  • Suits against governments
    • Environmental assessment and permitting
      • Natural resource extraction
Jurisdictions:
  • Canada
    • British Columbia
      • Court of Appeal
Principal Laws:
  • Canada
    • Mines Act (British Columbia)
Summary:

Appeal from the dismissal of an application for judicial review of a Mines Inspector’s decision to issue a permit to operate a rock quarry. The applicants questioned whether the decision was unreasonable because the Mines Inspector failed to consider the climate change impacts of the proposed quarry under the Mines Act. The appellant contends that climate change is such an important issue that the Mines Inspector’s failure to consider it constituted a fettering of his discretion, resulting in an unreasonable decision.

The reviewing judge held that the Mines Inspector had the discretion to consider the impacts of climate change but his failure to do so did not render his decision unreasonable. The request for interim injunctive relief was dismissed. While the Mines Inspector’s statement of relevance was overly broad, his interpretation of the factors he is required to consider under the statutory scheme was reasonable. The broad discretion granted to the decision maker under the Mines Act imposes no mandatory requirements and the Mines Inspector provided extensive reasons for which he assessed the factors he considered relevant to the application before him. On June 14th, 2021, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia dismissed the claimant's appeal.

On November 10th, 2021 the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the claimant's appeal of the Court of Appeal of British Columbia's decision, with costs assigned to the defendant, O.K. Industries Ltd.

At Issue: Whether the decision of a Mines Inspector under the Mines Act (British Columbia) to issue a permit to operate a rock quarry was unreasonable because the Mines Inspector failed to consider the climate change impacts of the proposed quarry.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Summary
06/14/2021 Judgment Download No summary available.
11/10/2021 Judgment Download No summary available.
11/06/2020 Judgment Download No summary available.
09/17/2020 Judgment Download No summary available.

© 2022 · Sabin Center for Climate Change Law · U.S. Litigation Chart made in collaboration with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

The materials on this website are intended to provide a general summary of the law and do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.