Applicant was charged with impaired driving offences, and subsequently brought judicial review application seeking a constitutional exemption from the Administrative License Suspension [ALS] regime under s 24(1) of the Charter. Application for an interim stay of the ALS regime pending the determination of the judicial review.
Held: Interim stay granted.
Applicant’s claim was not barred by Court of Appeal’s decision in Sahaluk, 2017 ABCA 233: “I read Sahaluk II as declining to endorse an abstract set of personal criteria for which a section 24(1) exemption would be an appropriate remedy. Their reluctance to do so cannot prevent applicants from requesting such a remedy from the courts.” There was a serious issue to be tried regarding whether s 24(1) exemptions are available to third parties in the context of s 52 litigation. Irreparable harm established. Considering balance of convenience, the risk of “opening the floodgates” was minimal. Interim stay appropriate.
J. Rath – Defence Counsel