. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov
In Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov (SCC, 2024) the Supreme Court of Canada revises the law of 'standard of review' ('SOR') for judicial reviews (JR) of administrative tribunal decisions and procedures. 'Standards of review' indicate the degree of deference that applies to the decisions of the lower court/tribunal/body - either on a JR or an appeal, by the reviewing body. The below extracts deal with 'reasonableness', the SOR for JRs - which are primarily addressed at errors by administrative tribunals - thus the term 'reasonableness review'.
Here the courts sets out the distinctiveness of reasons in the administrative adjudicative process:
[74] .... The approach we set out is one that focuses on justification, offers methodological consistency and reinforces the principle “that reasoned decision-making is the lynchpin of institutional legitimacy”: factum of the amici curiae, at para. 12.
....
[92] Administrative decision makers cannot always be expected to deploy the same array of legal techniques that might be expected of a lawyer or judge — nor will it always be necessary or even useful for them to do so. Instead, the concepts and language employed by administrative decision makers will often be highly specific to their fields of experience and expertise, and this may impact both the form and content of their reasons. These differences are not necessarily a sign of an unreasonable decision — indeed, they may be indicative of a decision maker’s strength within its particular and specialized domain. “Administrative justice” will not always look like “judicial justice”, and reviewing courts must remain acutely aware of that fact.
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