- Parties: The appellant was BNSF Railway Company. The respondents were the Great Vancouver Water District, Canadian Transportation Agency, and Canadian National Railway Company. 

- Subject Matter: In 2021, the Great Vancouver Water District applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency for authorization to construct and maintain an overhead sewage wastewater pipe – attached to a new utility truss bridge, itself attached to the abutments on the west side of the appellant’s bridge – to replace the existing pipe on the appellant’s bridge. The Canadian Transportation Agency found the proposed new sewage pipe a suitable utility crossing and authorized the district to construct and maintain it at its cost. The appellant challenged that decision. 

- Ruling: The appeal court ruled in the respondents’ favour and dismissed the appeal. The appeal court said that it had jurisdiction to review on appeal the agency’s interpretation of a 1959 agreement since it made a legal error. The appeal court held that the agency had jurisdiction to authorize the proposed work. The appeal court found that, properly interpreted, the agreement was inapplicable to the proposal subject of the district’s application to the agency and that the agreement’s parties intended otherwise. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Dec. 12, 2023. The appeal court released its decision on Jan. 17, 2025. 

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

- Amount: The appeal court ordered the appellant to pay the district’s costs of this appeal and of the appellant’s motion for leave to appeal the decision.