This was an Appeal of the Applications Judge’s Decision dismissing the Appellants’ Application pursuant to Rule 11.27 to confirm and validate service of commencement documents upon the Respondent Commissioner (“Commissioner Allan”) under the Public Inquiries Act, RSA 2000, c. P-39 (the “Public Inquiries Act”).

By way of background, the Lieutenant Governor issued an Order in Council (“OIC”) to establish a Commission under the Public Inquiries Act to investigate foreign organizations supporting anti-Alberta energy campaigns. Commissioner Allan was appointed and required to prepare a final report for the Minister of Energy. Commissioner Allan’s final report was published on October 21, 2021. Under Rule 3.15(2), the deadline for filing and serving Judicial Review commencement documents was April 21, 2022.

The Appellants sent the commencement documents for electronic filing on April 20, 2022 and received a filed copy back on June 7, 2022, due to a filing backlog. The filed copy was date stamped April 20, 2022. On April 21, 2022, the Appellants emailed the commencement documents to the Director of Civil Litigation at Alberta Justice (“Ms. Bridgett”), who acknowledged receipt. However, the Appellants’ email did not expressly mention service on Commissioner Allan. When the Appellants sent the filed copy to Ms. Bridgett, the Crown/Minister of Energy Respondents indicated that they could not accept service on Commissioner Allan’s behalf as he was not an employee or agent of the Crown. Personal service on Commissioner Allan was finally achieved on June 24, 2022.

The Court first considered whether serving unstamped copies of commencement documents before the deadline was sufficient when delays at the courthouse prevented timely filing. The Court referenced a recent decision in Siciliano v Alberta (Director of SafeRoads), 2024 ABCA 62, where the Court of Appeal ruled that serving unstamped documents followed by the stamped copies once received was acceptable when filing delays occurred. Applying this precedent, the Court found that the Appellants' service of unstamped documents before the deadline was sufficient.

The Court then assessed whether Commissioner Allan was properly served within the required time. Judicial Review Applications must be filed and served within six months of the Decision being reviewed pursuant to Rule 3.15(2), which is strictly enforced. Rule 3.15(3) specifies who must be served, including the decision-maker and directly affected parties. Further, Rule 11.14 governs service on statutory entities, requiring service on someone with management or control responsibilities regarding the entity.

The Court found that while Commissioner Allan’s independence with respect to his mandate during the Commission was clear, his role concluded once he submitted his report, making him functionally defunct thereafter. When the commencement documents were served, the Crown and/or the Minister of Energy held complete and exclusive control of the Commission. The Court concluded that requiring personal service on Commissioner Allan would contradict Rule 11.14 and the foundational principles of the Rules, which aim to resolve claims fairly, justly, and efficiently.

Consequently, the Court allowed the Appeal and ruled that the statutory entity, Commissioner Allan, was properly served with commencement documents when the Appellants served Ms. Bridgett via email on April 21, 2022, as required by Rules 3.15 and 11.14.