- Parties: The applicant was Don Publicover. The respondent was the Attorney General of Canada.

- Subject Matter: The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard issued a decision refusing to grant the applicant permission to transfer his Category B lobster fishing license. The Minister concluded that the goal of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has always been to reduce the number of participants in the lobster fishery for conservation and socio-economic reasons and that this goal remained relevant. The applicant filed a judicial review application seeking to quash and to remit the Minister’s decision for re-determination. The applicant sought to substitute the Minister’s decision with another decision allowing him to transfer his license to a willing buyer. The applicant argued that the evidence in the record did not support the Minister’s conclusion.

- Ruling: The court ruled in the respondent’s favour and dismissed the application. The court found the Minister’s decision reasonable. The court saw little merit to the applicant’s argument that the Minister’s conclusion lacked support. The court noted that the identification of Category B licenses as non-transferable remained current policy. The court then disagreed with the applicant’s claims that the Minister fettered her discretion or overlooked the basis for the applicant’s request for a policy exception.

- Date: The hearing was set on Apr. 14, 2023. The court released its decision on May 9, 2023.

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court.

- Amount: The court awarded no costs.