The council that denied benefits is not an administrative tribunal subject to judicial review: court
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan upheld a decision allowing an employee to challenge the denial of long-term disability benefits through civil litigation rather than judicial review.
The court ruled that the Disability Income Plan (DIP) Advisory Council, which denied the employee’s benefits, did not function as a government administrative tribunal subject to judicial review.
Public Employee Benefits Agency (PEBA), a branch of the Ministry of Finance, oversees the DIP, which provides benefits to public employees. The employee, a member of Unifor Local 1-S and an employee of SaskTel, received 20 months of sick leave benefits under the DIP but was denied long-term disability benefits by the plan’s administrator, Canada Life, in 2016. The employee twice appealed to the DIP council, which upheld the denial. Rather than seeking judicial review, the employee filed a civil claim against PEBA for wrongful denial of benefits.
PEBA argued that the employee should have sought judicial review of the DIP council’s decision rather than pursuing a civil lawsuit. It also contended that the employee’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) required dispute arbitration. However, the chambers judge rejected these arguments, ruling that the employee had the right to litigate the denial of benefits in court.
On appeal, PEBA challenged only the ruling on judicial review, asserting that the DIP council made government administrative decisions that should be subject to review. The Court of Appeal disagreed, concluding that the DIP council lacks the characteristics of an administrative tribunal. The court found that the DIP council functions as an advisory body, not a quasi-judicial decision-maker, and its decisions do not engage public law concerns that would warrant judicial review. The court also emphasized that PEBA’s powers under the Financial Administration Act do not include adjudicating benefit entitlements.
The court noted that the DIP operates similarly to a private insurance plan, with Canada Life handling its administration. Disputes over benefits are best resolved through contract and employment law rather than judicial review. The court also rejected PEBA’s argument that the plan’s public funding made the denial a matter of public law.
Additionally, the court upheld the chambers judge’s decision to award costs to SaskTel and Unifor, who intervened in the proceedings. The court ordered PEBA to pay the employee $15,000 in costs.
