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Presentation - Legal Culture Conflict. Robinson v. The Corporation of the City of Pickering
In Robinson v. The Corporation of the City of Pickering (Ont Div Ct, 2026) the Ontario Divisional Court dismissed a JR, this brought against "a sanction imposed by Pickering’s City Council for breaches of the City’s Code of Conduct". These breaches related to applicant statements that the Integrity Commissioner found to be false, misrepresentative of the City's policy, and "which exposed the City to a potential breach of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act".
Here the court illustrates a common difficulty faced by self-presenters at hearing - the failure to appreciate the often fine distinctions of legal procedure to which those who are unfamiliar with legal culture often fall afoul of. Much access to justice work (on everyone's part) needs to be directed at bringing these two positions together, since the ultimate result of legal process must be more than just 'following the rules' or even achieving natural justice. If the process doesn't justify itself convincingly to parties and observers, it invites disrepute - however unfair to it might be to those on the institutional side:[24] It is very clear the applicant feels she is the target of a vendetta and is being unfairly treated. She needs to understand, however, that the role of the court is to review the specific decisions at issue and the circumstances underlying them. The applicant is not entitled to rely on general statements, history, or information that is not proper evidence before the court. Much of what the applicant said in this court was not relevant to the specific allegations before us or was not properly in evidence.
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