Wellington Centre v. P.E.I. (Minister of Environment Resources), 1996 CanLII 3731 (PE SCTD)

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

After Prince Edward Island’s Minister of Environment Resources approved a proposal by the East Prince Management Committee to develop a waste management facility near Wellington Centre, Wellington Centre applied for judicial review of the Minister’s decision.

Wellington Centre represented a group of citizens who resided in the area where the facility would be located, and whose livelihoods depended on fisheries in the area. Wellington Centre took the position that the Minister’s decision had been based on arbitrary site selection and inadequate assessment. It also argued that the Minister had acted beyond his jurisdiction, and it alleged that the Minister had failed to take the citizens’ concerns into account, thereby demonstrating a lack of procedural fairness.

After consideration, the Court held that Wellington Centre’s application failed on all grounds, as the Court found that that the site had not been chosen arbitrarily, that Minister had demonstrated procedural fairness, that the environmental assessment process was sufficient, and that the Minister had acted within his jurisdiction. The Court therefore dismissed Wellington Centre’s application for judicial review.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/pe/pesctd/doc/1996/1996canlii3731/1996canlii3731.html

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