Summaries Sunday: Maritime Law Book

Summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book. Every Sunday we present a precis of the latest summaries, a fuller version of which can be found on MLB-Slaw Selected Case Summaries at cases.slaw.ca.

This week’s summaries concern:
Mandamus / Standing / Mandatory drug and alcohol testing / Hearsay / Strip search:

Zeng v. Canada (Attorney General) 2013 FC 104
Administrative Law – Judicial review – Mandamus – When available
Zeng was a citizen of China. He was charged with, inter alia, two counts of fraud. Zeng fled China to Canada and sought refugee status. The Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board dismissed the application. The Board found that Zeng was excluded from refugee protection under art. 1F(b) of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (serious non-political crime). Zeng’s judicial review application was dismissed . . .

Strickland et al. v. Canada (Attorney General) 2013 FC 475
Courts – Federal Court of Canada – Jurisdiction – Federal Court – Practice – Judicial review applications – Standing 
The applicants applied for judicial review, seeking to have the Federal Child Support Guidelines declared ultra vires the Divorce Act. The Attorney General of Canada moved to have the application dismissed, raising issues relating to standing and collateral attack.
The Federal Court granted the motion and dismissed the judicial review application. . . .

Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd. v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 2013 SCC 34
Labour Law – Industrial relations – Collective agreement – Interpretation – Work rules – Drug and alcohol policies (incl. testing)
rving Pulp and Paper Ltd. operated a kraft paper mill in Saint John, New Brunswick. Irving unilaterally adopted a workplace policy which included mandatory and random alcohol and drug testing for employees holding safety sensitive positions. A tested employee filed a grievance in which he challenged Irving’s alcohol testing policy on the basis that “… there was no reasonable grounds to . . .

R. v. Baldree (C.) 2013 SCC 35
Evidence – Hearsay rule – General principles and definitions – What constitutes hearsay
The police arrested the accused on drug charges and seized his cell phone. A police officer answered a call made to the accused’s phone. The caller wanted to buy and have delivered to a local address an ounce of “weed”. Posing as the accused’s successor, the officer agreed to deliver the drugs at the price the accused usually charged, but didn’t make the delivery. At trial, the evidence . . .

Allen v. Law Enforcement Review Board (Alta.) et al. 2013 ABCA 187
Civil Rights – Security of the person – Lawful or reasonable search – Strip searches
The uncooperative complainant was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, and was transported to a nearby police station. At the police station Detective Allen directed the complainant to remove his clothing down to his underwear. The complainant complied, and Detective Allan searched his clothing for more drugs. The complainant was released from custody without any charges being laid. As a result of this interaction, Detective . . .