The Appellant applied for permission to appeal a Decision of the Court of Queen’s Bench in which his Judicial Review Application was dismissed. The Appellant applied for Judicial Review pursuant to the Election Act, RSA 2000, c E-1, as the Respondent had fined the Appellant a small amount for an alleged violation of guidelines regarding election advertisements. The Appellant took the position that he did not require permission to appeal despite the fact that the quantum of the fine was less than $25,000. The Appellant also argued that the Application for Judicial Review was unrelated to the fine and had more to do with powers allocated under the Election Act. The Appellant argued in the alternative that, if permission to appeal was necessary, he had met the requirements for leave to appeal. The Court noted that the requirements were that the Appeal must involve an important question of law or precedent, there must be a reasonable chance of success on Appeal, and the delay cause by the Appeal must not unduly hinder the progress of the Action or cause undue prejudice.

Veldhuis J.A. referenced Rule 14.5(1)(g), which provides that permission to appeal must be sought where the Appeal is from a Decision in a matter where the controversy in the Appeal can be estimated in money and does not exceed the sum of $25,000 exclusive of Costs. Veldhuis J.A. determined that even if there were important legal questions arising out of the Application for Judicial Review, the administrative monetary penalty was the matter at issue in the Judicial Review Application. Veldhuis J.A. held that Rule 14.5(1)(g) applied, and therefore permission to appeal was required. Veldhuis J.A. agreed that the Appellant had met the test for leave to appeal and granted the Appellant leave to appeal the Court of Queen’s Bench’s Decision to dismiss his Application for Judicial Review.