- Parties: The applicant was John Mombourquette. The respondent was Attorney General of Canada. 

- Subject Matter: The applicant made a request for ongoing authorization to use a medical substitute operator in connection with an inshore lobster fishing licence. He alleged that he remained actively engaged in the lobster fishery despite his disability. The acting deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada issued a decision dated Oct. 17, 2022 that denied the applicant’s request. The applicant sought judicial review of this decision. 

- Ruling: The court ruled in the applicant’s favour, allowed the judicial review application, set aside the deputy minister’s decision, and returned the matter for redetermination. The court held that the deputy minister erred by incorrectly concluding that the decision did not engage the equality rights of the applicant as a person with a disability under s. 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court concluded that the error led the deputy minister to unreasonably balance the applicant’s rights against relevant regulatory and policy objectives. The court found it unnecessary to consider the applicant’s argument alleging constitutional invalidity in the relevant regulatory provisions underlying the decision, given that the applicant failed to raise that argument before the deputy minister. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Oct. 1, 2024. The court released its decision on Dec. 23, 2024. 

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

- Amount: The court awarded the applicant costs of the application, set at $8000 inclusive of disbursements.