ADMINISTRATIVE LAW |
Judicial Review |
Sargeant v. Canada (Attorney General)
T-1362-01
2002 FCT 1043, Dawson J.
4/10/02
16 pp.
Judicial review of interim decision of Independent Reviewer appointed under staffing program of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA)--Issue whether Reviewer misconstrued jurisdiction and breached principles of natural justice in refusing to order disclosure of certain documents-- CCRA staffing procedure comprising three stages: review against prerequisites for position, assessment against qualifications, and placement--Applicants successfully reaching stage two--Employer staffing five positions, deciding to apply two of three placement criteria: driver's licence and degree of qualification--Employer measuring "degree of qualification" by score on examination during assessment stage--Applicants not selected for placement-- Applicants seeking independent third party review--Reviewer holding jurisdiction limited to review of placement stage and not authorized to review assessment against qualifications stage-- Reviewer holding assessment documents not relevant to review and therefore could not order their disclosure--In fact selection for placement on basis of assessment stage creating linkage between two stages-- Reviewer erring-- Recourse to assessment results required to provide meaningful recourse at placement level--In determining whether applicants treated in arbitrary manner, relevant to consider whether standards consistently applied--Inconsistent application of assessment criteria would result in arbitrary decision--Procedural fairness requiring that participants have meaningful opportunity to present cases fully and fairly--Full and fair presentation requiring access to assessment scores of each candidate--By finding such documents not relevant, Reviewer precluding consideration of whether standards consistently applied, depriving applicants of access to effective recourse-- Application allowed.