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35052

Douglas Martin v. Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta, et al.

(Alberta) (Civil) (By Leave)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2014-04-02 Appeal closed
2014-03-31 Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties
2014-03-31 Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties
2014-03-28 Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ LeB Abe Ro Cro Ka Wa, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Number 1001-0247-AC, 2012 ABCA 248, dated August 29, 2012, heard on December 10, 2013, is dismissed.
Dismissed
2014-02-19 Correspondence received from, David Debenham, re.: will be taking carriage of this matter from Jeffrey W. Beedell. Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-12-24 Transcript received, (99 pages)
2013-12-10 Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow
2013-12-10 Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, All parties consented
2013-12-10 Hearing of the appeal, 2013-12-10, CJ LeB Abe Ro Cro Ka Wa
Judgment reserved
2013-12-10 Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in Court Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-12-10 Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in Court Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail
2013-12-10 Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in Court Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-12-10 Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in Court Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-12-10 Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), filed in Court Douglas Martin
2013-12-09 Correspondence received from, Henry Brown, Q.C. by email re: request for reserved seat Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-12-06 Correspondence received from, from Andrea Lapierre by email re: request for 2 more reserved seats Douglas Martin
2013-12-06 Correspondence received from, Henry Brown rec'd by email dated 2013/12/05 re: will be referring to the decision of McLean v. BCSC 2013 SCC 67 in their submission (sent to the Court 2013/12/06) Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-12-05 Correspondence received from, John S. Thyurst, Fax letter dated 2013-12-05, re.: The federal Crown shoud appear in the style of cause in the name of Attorney General of Canada Attorney General for Canada
2013-12-04 Correspondence received from, Email letter dated 2013-12-04, from Mr. Andrew Raven, re.: The Authorities the Appellant will refer to. (Sent to the Court 2013/12/06) Douglas Martin
2013-11-29 Correspondence received from, Order of appearance and time allotments:
1) Mr. Douglas R. Mah - 25 mins
2) Ms. Sandra R. Hermiston - 10 mins
3) Mr. John S. Tyhurst- 25 mins 		Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-11-26 Correspondence received from, 6 reserved seats requested Attorney General for Canada
2013-11-22 Notice of appearance, Sandra R. Hermiston will be appearing Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-11-20 Correspondence received from, Andrew Raven dated 2013-11-20 re: request for 6 reserved seats. 2013-12-06 - two more seats requested Douglas Martin
2013-11-20 Notice of appearance, John S. Tyhurst will be appearing Attorney General for Canada
2013-11-20 Notice of appearance, Andrew Raven, Andrew Astritis and Amanda Montague-Reinholdt will be present Douglas Martin
2013-11-20 Notice of appearance, Andrew Raven and Andrew Astritis will be present at the hearing. Mr. Raven will make oral submissions. Douglas Martin
2013-11-18 Notice of appearance, Scott Campbell and Madeleine Hearns will be present, amended on 2013-11-25, re.: Roderick (Rory) H. Rogers, Q.C. will appear along with Ms. Hearns and he will make oral argument. Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-11-14 Notice of appearance, Laurel M. Courtenay and Scott A. Nielsen will be appearing Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-11-12 Notice of appearance, Pierre-Michel Lajeunesse and Luclle Giard will be appearing Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail
2013-11-08 Notice of appearance, Douglas Mah and Ron Goltz will be present at the hearing. Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-10-28 Notice of appearance, Laurel Courtenay and Scott Nielsen will be present at the hearing. Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-10-22 Order by, Ro, FURTHER TO THE ORDER dated August 19, 2013, granting leave to intervene to the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail and the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia;
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the said interveners are each granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding ten (10) minutes at the hearing of the appeal.
Granted
2013-10-15 Intervener's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-10-15 Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-10-15 Intervener's factum, Completed on: 2013-10-15 Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-10-11 Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-10-15 Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail
2013-10-11 Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-10-15 Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail
2013-10-03 Intervener's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-10-03 Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-10-03 Intervener's factum, Completed on: 2013-10-03 Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-09-09 Notice of hearing sent to parties
2013-08-30 Appeal perfected for hearing
2013-08-28 Respondent's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-28 Attorney General for Canada
2013-08-28 Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-28 Attorney General for Canada
2013-08-28 Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-29 Attorney General for Canada
2013-08-27 Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-27 Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-08-21 Appeal hearing scheduled, 2013-12-10
Judgment reserved
2013-08-20 Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-20 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-08-20 Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-20 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-08-19 Order on motion for leave to intervene, (by ROTHSTEIN J.)
2013-08-19 Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Ro, UPON APPLICATIONS by the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail and the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia for leave to intervene in the above appeal;
AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
The motion for leave to intervene of the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail and the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia are granted and the said interveners shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed 10 pages in length on or before October 15, 2013.
The request to present oral argument is deferred to a date following receipt and consideration of the written arguments of the parties and the interveners.
The interveners are not entitled to raise new issues or to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties.
To the extent that the interests are similar, interveners shall consult to avoid repetition.
Pursuant to Rule 59(1)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the interveners shall pay to the appellant and respondents any additional disbursements occasioned to the appellant and respondents by their interventions
Granted
2013-08-19 Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Ro
2013-08-16 Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2013-08-16 Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-08-09 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-09 Douglas Martin
2013-08-08 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-08 Douglas Martin
2013-08-06 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sandra R. Hermiston dated Aug. 6/13 (by CSST) (original received Aug. 13/13), Completed on: 2013-08-06 Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-08-06 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sandra R. Hermiston dated Aug. 6/13 (by WCBNS) (original rec'd Aug13/13), Completed on: 2013-08-06 Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-08-01 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from John S. Tyhurst dated Aug. 1/13 (by all interveners), Completed on: 2013-08-01 Attorney General for Canada
2013-08-01 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), (by WCBBC), Completed on: 2013-08-01 Douglas Martin
2013-07-31 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Douglas R. Mah, Q.C. dated July 31/13 (by CSST), Completed on: 2013-07-31 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-07-31 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Douglas R. Mah, Q.C. dated July 31/13 (by WCB of NS), Completed on: 2013-07-31 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-07-30 Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-07-30 Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
2013-07-30 Motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2013-07-30 Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail
2013-07-25 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, from Sandra R. Hermiston dated July 25/13 (by WCBBC), Completed on: 2013-07-25 Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-07-25 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Douglas R. Mah, Q.C. dated July 24/13 (by WCB of BC), Completed on: 2013-07-25 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-07-22 Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), (on motion for leave to intervene), Completed on: 2013-07-22 Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-07-22 Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-07-22 Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
2013-07-11 Order on motion to extend time
2013-07-11 Decision on motion to extend time, DeRg, to serve and file the Appellant's record, factum and book of authorities to July 3, 2013
Granted
2013-07-11 Submission of motion to extend time, DeRg
2013-07-09 Correspondence received from, John S. Tyhurst dated July 9/13 re: will represent AG Canada Attorney General for Canada
2013-07-04 Response to motion to extend time, email from Sarah Sherhols dated July 3/13 (joint with motion), Completed on: 2013-07-04 Attorney General for Canada
2013-07-04 Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), email from Marie-France Major dated July 3/13 (joint with motion), Completed on: 2013-07-04 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2013-07-04 Response to motion to extend time, email from Gowlings dated July 3/13 (joint with motion), Completed on: 2013-07-04 Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2013-07-04 Motion to extend time, to serve and file the Appellant's record, factum and book of authorities to July 3/13, Completed on: 2013-07-04 Douglas Martin
2013-07-03 Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-07-10 Douglas Martin
2013-07-03 Appellant's factum, Motion for extension of time requested, filed July 4/13, Completed on: 2013-07-10 Douglas Martin
2013-07-02 Appellant's record, Completed on: 2013-07-03 Douglas Martin
2013-04-08 Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2013-04-08 Douglas Martin
2013-03-08 Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted)
2013-03-08 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2013-03-08 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2013-03-07 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Number 1001-0247-AC, 2012 ABCA 248, dated August 29, 2012, is granted with costs in the cause.
Granted, with costs in the cause
2013-01-28 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Abe Cro
2013-01-24 Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Marie-France Major dated January 24, 2013. Re: Filing of two new authorities from the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2012-11-30 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2012-11-30 Douglas Martin
2012-11-20 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2012-11-20 Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
2012-11-20 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Will not be filing a response, Completed on: 2012-11-20 Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation
2012-10-26 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2012-10-26 Application for leave to appeal, Final C/A order received on January 25, 2013 (2 volumes), Completed on: 2012-10-26 Douglas Martin

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Martin, Douglas Appellant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta Respondent Active
Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation Respondent Active
Attorney General for Canada Respondent Active

Other parties

Other parties
Name Role Status
Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia Intervener Active
Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail Intervener Active
Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia Intervener Active

Counsel

Party: Martin, Douglas

Counsel
Andrew Raven
Andrew Astritis
Amanda Montague-Reinholdt
Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP
1600 - 220 Laurier Ave West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5Z9
Telephone: (613) 567-2901
FAX: (613) 567-2921
Email: araven@ravenlaw.com

Party: Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta

Counsel
Douglas R. Mah, Q.C.
Marie-France Major
Ron Goltz
Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta
9912 - 107th Street
11th Floor
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 1G5
Telephone: (780) 498-8665
FAX: (780) 498-7878
Email: douglas.mah@wcb.ab.ca
Agent
Eugene Meehan, Q.C.
Supreme Advocacy LLP
100 - 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 101
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca

Party: Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation

Counsel
Sandra Hermiston
Appeals Commission
901, 10109 - 106 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3L7
Telephone: (780) 312-8700
FAX: (780) 412-8701
Email: sandy.hermiston@appealscommission.ab.ca
Agent
Henry S. Brown, Q.C.
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com

Party: Attorney General for Canada

Counsel
John S. Tyhurst
Attorney General of Canada
50 O'Connor Street, Suite 500, Room 546
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 670-6276
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Agent
Christopher M. Rupar
Attorney General of Canada
50 O'Connor Street, Suite 500, Room 557
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 670-6290
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: christopher.rupar@justice.gc.ca

Party: Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia

Counsel
Laurel M. Courtenay
Scott A. Nielsen
Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia
6951 Westminster Highway
Richmond, British Columbia
V7C 1C6
Telephone: (604) 233-5319
FAX: (604) 279-8116
Email: laurel.courtenay@worksafebc.com
Agent
Henry S. Brown, Q.C.
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com

Party: Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail

Counsel
Pierre Michel Lajeunesse
Lucille Giard
Vigneault Thibodeau Bergeron, avocats
304 - 524, rue Bourdages
Québec, Quebec
G1K 7E2
Telephone: (418) 266-4900 Ext: 5002
FAX: (418) 266-4922
Email: pierre-michel.lajeunesse@csst.qc.ca
Agent
Richard Gaudreau
Bergeron, Gaudreau
167, rue Notre Dame de l'Île
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 3T3
Telephone: (819) 770-7928
FAX: (819) 770-1424
Email: bergeron.gaudreau@qc.aira.com

Party: Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia

Counsel
Roderick (Rory) H. Rogers, Q.C.
Madeleine F. Hearns
Scott R. Campbell
Stewart McKelvey
900-1959 Upper Water street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 2X2
Telephone: (902) 420-3200
FAX: (902) 420-1417
Email: rrogers@stewartmckelvey.com
Agent
David Debenham
McMillan LLP
300 - 50 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: david.debenham@mcmillan.ca

Summary

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Statutes – Statutory interpretation – Eligibility for compensation – Is a federal government or Crown corporation employee’s eligibility for workers’ compensation determined by the Government Employees Compensation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. G 5 or by provincial legislation? – Can the definition of “accident” under the Government Employees Compensation Act be interpreted to require “excessive or unusual” events for psychological stress claims?

The Respondent Martin commenced a labour complaint against the Applicant, his employer. Parks Canada subsequently instructed the Respondent to disclose information relating to data on his work computer so that Parks Canada might comply with a request that it had received under the Access to Information Act. The Respondent claimed that this request triggered a psychological condition leading to his taking leave and, ultimately, to his making a claim for compensation for chronic stress. The Workers’ Compensation Board found that the Respondent’s chronic onset stress was ineligible for compensation because it failed to meet two of the criteria set out in the Workers’ Compensation Board of Directors Policy 03 01 as the labour relations issues with Parks Canada were not excessive or unusual compared to the normal pressures and tensions of an average worker in a similar occupation. The Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers’ Compensation also concluded that the Respondent had not satisfied two criteria of the Policy and was ineligible for the compensation

Lower court rulings

March 9, 2010
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta

0901-15985

Judicial review application allowed: Board decision set aside; matter to be returned to the Commission to determine entitlement based on Chamber Judge’s interpretation of s. 4(1)(a)(i) of Government Employees Compensation Act and without regard to any further limitations in the Policy.
August 29, 2012
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary)

1001-0247-AC, 2012 ABCA 248

Appeal allowed.

Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

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Factums on appeal

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Date modified: 2025-02-27