- Parties: The applicant was Dana Robinson. The respondent was the 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. The deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada issued a decision dated Feb. 2, 2023 that denied the applicant’s request. This decision redetermined an earlier decision by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which was the subject of a successful judicial review application in Robinson v Canada (Attorney General), 2020 FC 942, affirmed in Canada (Attorney General) v Robinson, 2022 FCA 59. 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 incorrectly concluded 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 in the Constitution Act, 1982. The court concluded that the error led the deputy minister to unreasonably balance the applicant’s rights against relevant regulatory and policy objectives. 

- 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.