Decision
The decision of the Supreme Court was unanimous and written by "The Court" (i.e., not attributed to a particular judge). In it, the Court quickly dismissed the notion that commission recommendations are mandatory on the grounds that this contradicted the 1997 Reference. The Supreme Court also found that rational justification for not following recommendations could be defined as the government giving full reasons that address the Commissions' points. The government must operate in good faith and its decisions must be constitutional. An irrational rejection would be "Bald expressions of rejection or disapproval." The Court added that salaries of judges could be compared with salaries of other government workers as long as the governments explains how they selected who is compared to whom. New evidence can also be cited for not following recommendations, including discoveries that a recommendations' evidence is inaccurate.
When government reasons are legally challenged, the Supreme Court instructs reviewing courts to exercise deference to the government. Following the 1997 Reference, the Supreme Court found reviewing courts should ask two questions, namely whether reasons are given by the government and whether they are reasonable. In 2005, the Court announced that "We are now adding a third stage which requires the reviewing judge to view the matter globally and consider whether the overall purpose of the commission process has been met." This "global perspective" requires a general evaluation of the situation, questions whether the government has acted rationally despite some small flaws in the government's reasons, and some deference to the government.
As for the Anti-Inflation Reference, the Court in 2005 noted that mention of it in the 1997 Reference was merely to demonstrate what constitutes a reviewing method. It was not to say that reasons for not following recommendations should be made only in light of economic emergencies.
Applying these new standards to the four cases, the Supreme Court found only the Quebec government's reasons were irrational. The Supreme Court faulted the Quebec government for not addressing the main recommendations.
Read more about this topic: Provincial Court Judges' Assn. Of New Brunswick V. New Brunswick (Minister Of Justice)
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