- Parties: The applicant was Thomas B Winkler. The respondent was the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

- Subject Matter: The applicant requested ministerial review under s. 129 of the Customs Act. Under ss. 131 and 133 of the Customs Act, 1985, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness was authorized to decide whether a contravention occurred and whether to refund any portion of the money that the applicant paid for the return of his seized vehicle. The Minister issued a decision confirming that the applicant contravened s. 11 of the Customs Act by failing to report to a Canada Border Services Agency officer and a decision finding extenuating circumstances warranting a $500 refund of the payment for releasing the vehicle. The applicant filed a judicial review application challenging the Minister’s contravention decision and release decision.

- Ruling: The court ruled in the respondent’s favour and dismissed the judicial review application. The court saw no basis to interfere with either of the Minister’s decisions. First, regarding the contravention decision, the court held that the judicial review application could not challenge the Minister’s conclusion that the applicant contravened the Customs Act. Second, the court determined that the release decision was reasonable and supported by intelligible and transparent reasons.

- Date: The hearing was set on Aug. 2, 2023. The court released its decision on Feb. 14, 2024.

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

- Amount: No financial award was specified.