Northern Construction Enterprises Inc. v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2015 NSCA 44 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.

Northern Construction Enterprises Inc. (“Northern”) applied for a permit to develop an aggregate quarry in the Halifax Regional Municipality (“HRM”). When the HRM chose not to award the permit, Northern appealed to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (“UARB”), arguing that the HRM had no jurisdiction to deny the permit because the Province of Nova Scotia, not individual municipalities, has the authority to determine the location of quarries. The HRM had enacted a by-law prohibiting all but the most basic quarrying activities, and it argued that it had the authority to do because although the Province had jurisdiction over quarries, the HRM had jurisdiction over “developments adjacent to…quarries.” Northern asked the UARB to declare that the HRM had no authority to enact that by-law, and it argued that the HRM’s decision to deny the permit should be overturned.

After the UARB held that it had no jurisdiction to determine whether the HRM had the authority to enact the by-law at issue, the matter came before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, which held that the HRM did have the authority. Northern then appealed to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. After considering the relevant law and legal principles, the Court set aside the lower court’s decision, holding that it would be unreasonable for the HRM to have the power to thwart the Province’s decisions regarding quarries when the Province had made a deliberate choice to retain that authority for itself.

To read other decisions related to this case, go to:

Northern Construction Enterprises Inc. v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2014 NSSC 166 (CanLII)

Northern Construction Enterprises Inc. v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2014 NSCA 88 (CanLII)

Northern Construction Enterprises Inc. v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2015 NSCA 43 (CanLII)

Halifax Regional Municipality v. Northern Construction Enterprises Inc., 2016 CanLII 7603 (SCC)

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nsca/doc/2015/2015nsca44/2015nsca44.html

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