The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta has introduced a document-based review process – SafeRoads Alberta Accelerated Review Procedure [SAARP] – to deal with judicial review applications of decisions issued by SafeRoads Alberta Tribunal, which conducts reviews of “Notices of Administrative Penalty,” pursuant to the Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6, and the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation, Alta Reg 224/2020, as enabled by the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, SA 2020, c P-30.8.
This process is informed by the different timing requirements for judicial review of SafeRoads Alberta Tribunal Decisions, the interests of access to justice, timely resolution of proceedings, and the efficient allocation of Court resources, where challenges to these tribunal decisions appear to have substantive defects on the face of the commencement document.
The document-based review process is initiated by a Step One written Court decision, which provides comprehensive direction to the Applicant(s), and enables them, inter alia, to either:
- discontinue their challenges to the SafeRoads Alberta Decisions in a timely manner, in order to efficiently use litigant, judicial, and Court resources; or
- submit an amended judicial review Application that challenges a SafeRoads Alberta Decision; or
- make submissions to establish that their pleadings that challenge a SafeRoads Alberta Decision constitute a valid action and should not be struck out pursuant to Rule 3.68 of the Alberta Rules of Court.
See: Kelleher v Alberta (Director of SafeRoads), 2021 ABQB 517.
Where the Applicant chooses to submit an amended judicial review Application, the Amended Originating Application must use Form 7, which should be accompanied by a Form 8 Notice to Obtain Record of Proceedings, pursuant to Rule 3.18 of the Alberta Rules of Court.