Prince Edward Island (Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs) v. Island Farm and Fish Meal Ltd., 1989 CanLII 276 (PE SCAD)

This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (Appeal Division).

Prince Edward Island’s Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs issued a Ministerial Order to Island Farm and Fish Meal Ltd., ordering the company to stop processing fish at its plant in Kinross. When the company failed to comply with the Order, the Minister applied for an injunction against the company, relying on the authority of the province’s Environmental Protection Act. After a Judge of the Trial Division denied the Minister’s application, the Minister appealed to the Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal.

There, the Court held that the Minister had not established a legal basis upon which an injunction could be granted. Although Island Farm and Fish Meal Ltd. had failed to comply with the Ministerial Order, the relevant provisions of the Environmental Protection Act did not authorize injunctions for failure to comply with Ministerial Orders. In order to justify an injunction, the Minister had to prove that the company had actually violated the Act itself or corresponding regulations. Because the Minister had not proved that the company had violated the Act itself or corresponding regulations, the Court dismissed the Minister’s appeal.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/pe/pescad/doc/1989/1989canlii276/1989canlii276.html

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