Latest news with #SuzanneDuncan
CBC
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Legal challenge of the Yukon's Civil Emergency Measures Act fails for 2nd time
The Yukon Court of Appeal has dismissed a legal challenge to the territory's Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA) for a second time. The original lawsuit, filed in 2020, was dismissed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Suzanne Duncan in November 2023. The seven plaintiffs, primarily represented by Ross Mercer, appealed the decision in December 2023. The 2020 lawsuit and 2023 appeal both argued that CEMA — which was used to create and enforce public health rules and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic — was unconstitutional and gave politicians too much power without sufficient oversight. They wanted the legislation struck down. The appeal says Duncan "fundamentally misunderstood" their argument, including the role of unwritten constitutional principles and the importance of the Yukon Act's principle of reasonable government. They also claim Duncan mischaracterized their motivation as a political disagreement with decisions made during the pandemic, instead of a broader argument against CEMA. Justice G. Bruce Butler dismissed the appeal in a decision published on May 16. It was supported by Chief Justice Leonard Marchand and Justice Sheila MacPherson. Butler backed Duncan's reasoning against Mercer's arguments. He said Mercer's claim that CEMA overrides responsible government is "fanciful and entirely lacking in merit," and accused Mercer of quoting various authorities out of context to make his argument. Butler said Mercer ignored the practical role of CEMA during the pandemic, which only allowed the minister power in direct response to the stated emergency. The Yukon Legislature also continued to debate and pass legislation during the pandemic while CEMA was in place. Butler agreed with a submission from the Yukon government, which said CEMA itself was a product of democratic process as it was passed by the Yukon Legislative Assembly and the same process, not a judge, should be used to change it.
CBC
05-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Court tosses Yukon gov't case against YESAB over recommendation on exploration project
The Yukon Supreme Court has tossed the territorial government's case against the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board over the board's recommendation against a proposed exploration project in the Peel watershed. In a newly-published decision, Chief Justice Suzanne Duncan dismissed the government's petition against the board, commonly referred to as YESAB, on procedural grounds, writing that the recommendation at the centre of the case was "not amenable to judicial review." The government filed a legal petition in 2023 after YESAB's Dawson-area designated office recommended against a proposal by exploration company Silver47 to do five years of work around Michelle Creek. The area is in the southern reaches of the Peel watershed near the northern tip of Tombstone Territorial Park and on the traditional territories of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun. The YESAB office, after assessing Silver47's proposal, determined that the project was likely to have severe adverse impacts on wildlife and First Nation wellness that couldn't be mitigated, and that it wasn't in compliance with the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan. The Yukon government, via its petition, applied for a judicial review of the recommendation claiming that it was unreasonable and deeply flawed. Duncan, however, ruled that there was no basis for her to intervene, noting that the recommendation was not binding. "The administrative process has not yet concluded: the [YESAB designated office's] recommendation is not a decision," she wrote. She also dismissed the Yukon government's request for a court order quashing the office's recommendation and having it re-do its project assessment. "To do so would violate the principle of judicial respect for administrative decision-makers and an administrative process containing various steps set out by Parliament," Duncan wrote. The case marked the first time the Yukon government had ever taken legal action against YESAB. Duncan heard three days of arguments last November, with First Nations, the attorney general of Canada and YESAB asking for the petition to be dismissed while the Yukon government and Silver47 pushed for a ruling to have the assessment re-done. Silver47's project was the first one in the Peel watershed region to undergo a YESAB assessment since the signing of the regional land use plan in 2019.
