A British Columbia-based non-profit began the appeal process for its recently tossed petition against the province’s vaccine passport system..September was an overall grim month for those involved with several legal challenges aimed at some of the province’s COVID-19-related policies. Among the axed cases was the Canadian Society for the Advancement of Science in Public Policy’s (CSASPP) petition against BC’s previously mandated vaccine passport policy — which was dismissed by BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson last month..READ MORE: Grim week for several of BC's vaccine-related court cases.Now, less than a month later, CSASPP’s Executive Director Kip Warner says he’s “very happy” to share the Notice of Appeal is en route to Crown Counsel..Warner said he believes CSASPP may have grounds for appeal on standing, administrative law, and on Charter grounds..“I would prefer to keep our powder dry as long as possible, but I will publish our factum (written argument), currently being drafted by counsel, as soon as I am able to,” he said..“I understand that many of you were upset with the chief justice's ruling, in particular within the bar. I must admit that I was not entirely surprised by the judgment. But I also knew that it is better to lose in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and prevail in the Court of Appeal than the inverse.”.Judges often seem accommodating, only to dismiss the application with or without costs, as Warner previously noted, adding other times "they can appear adversarial, yet end up granting the relief sought.".“One thing I have learned over the years is to be cautious at trying to read the tea leaves until you have their actual judgment in hand," he said..The BC Court of Appeal often overturns decisions of the BC Supreme Court, and litigants have successfully overturned rulings set forth by Hinkson himself..Warner highlighted one case in particular when Hinkson refused to grant public interest standing to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), which had brought forth a claim against the province alleging discrimination in regard to how certain mental health services were provided to the organization..The CCD successfully appealed the decision and Crown Counsel sought leave (permission for hearing) in the Supreme Court of Canada. Leave was granted, however the appeal in Canada's top court was dismissed..“We have some really exceptional minds currently tasked with this appeal, concurrent to our other work. We look forward to correcting the numerous mistakes made by our Chief Justice as quickly as possible," Warner told the Western Standard Wednesday.."Fortunately, the Court of Appeal has already been successfully called upon in the past to do that.".The recently tossed petition CSASPP is attempting to appeal is separate from the non-profit's class action suit which is aimed at BC’s COVID-19 related measures that were instituted March 18, 2020, as well as its petition for healthcare workers faced with vaccine mandates..Both of those forward moving cases are handled by different judges.As for the appeal, Warner says it is likely the following step in his petition's trajectory will be either Crown Counsel or his organization seeking leave in the nation's highest court."Whether we succeed or not, it is probable the litigants may eventually find themselves in Ottawa. Our work is done when respect for the rule of law on the part of the executive has been restored and adequate safeguards are in place to ensure history does not repeat itself," he said..Across all provinces and territories, only 8% of leave applications seeking permission to be heard in the Supreme Court of Canada were successful in 2021.BC has a slighter higher than average success rate. In 2021, 13% of leave applications from BC to Canada's most senior court were successful.The Supreme Court of Canada heard 133 appeals from BC between 2010 and 2021. Seventy of those were dismissed and 57 were allowed.
