“On the Record”: Understanding the Role of a Record of Proceedings

“On the Record”: Understanding the Role of a Record of Proceedings

By Daina Young

Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP

AMSC Casual Legal Service Provider

When someone wishes to challenge a decision made by a municipal council, their remedy is usually to seek judicial review of the decision in question. This involves making an application to the Court of Queen’s Bench.

As a part of this process, the municipality is required to file a Record of Proceedings. Rule 3.18 (2) of the Alberta Rules of Court sets out what must be included in a Record of Proceedings:

(a)      the written record, if any, of the decision or act that is the subject of the originating application for judicial review,

(b)      the reasons given for the decision or act, if any,

(c)      the document which started the proceeding,

(d)      the evidence and exhibits filed with the person or body, if any, and

(e)      anything else relevant to the decision or act in the possession of the person or body

The Record of Proceedings is significant because it is the evidence that the Court of Queen’s Bench will consider in assessing the reasonableness of the municipal council’s decision. Subject to limited exceptions, the Record of Proceedings is the only evidence that the municipality can rely upon in defending the reasonableness of Council’s decision.

For this reason, it is important the written record of a council’s decision and any evidence and exhibits filed with the body accurately reflect the totality of the information that was before the council when a decision was made. If an individual councillor receives information outside of a council meeting or public hearing they should consider whether it is relevant to the decision at issue and, if so, what steps they can take to have it put before council as a whole to ensure it becomes part of the record of proceedings

To access AMSC’s Casual Legal Helpline, AUMA members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or email casuallegal [at] amsc.ca (casuallegal[at]amsc[dot]ca) and reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please contact riskcontrol [at] auma.ca (riskcontrol[at]auma[dot]ca), or call 310-AUMA (2862) to speak to AUMA’s Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of the AUMA can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.