The Respondent sought permission, pursuant to Rules 14.46 and 14.72, to reconsider a previous Decision, Jinnah v Alberta Dental Association and College, 2022 ABCA 336 (“Jinnah”), which established a presumption that regulatory bodies should bear the full Costs of disciplinary proceedings unless compelling reasons exist otherwise. Before Jinnah, Costs were discretionary and based on various factors, as established in KC v College of Physical Therapists of Alberta, 1999 ABCA 253.

The Court emphasized the importance of maintaining judicial consistency and the careful consideration required before overturning precedents. Factors to consider include whether the precedent is recent or old; has been disapproved of or is contrary to Decisions of other Courts of Appeal; contains some “simple, obvious, demonstrable flaw”; was created by overlooking binding statute or authority; or created settled expectations. The Court acknowledged that Jinnah was recent, has not created settled expectations, and has been inconsistently followed in subsequent Decisions.

As a result, the Application to reconsider Jinnah was granted.