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The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a man, born in Canada, to parents who were undercover Russian spies, is a Canadian citizen.

This decision, and two others, including a finding that the CRTC does not have the power to require US Super Bowl ads to be shown in Canada, formed the basis of an effort to clarify how courts should deal with the review of administrative decisions.

There are two standards of review when courts are asked to review administrative decisions. These standards are \\u201creasonableness\\u201d and \\u201ccorrectness.\\u201d

The usual standard of review by a court will be whether a decision was reasonable. This is what was applied in the case of the child of the Russian spies. A decision will be reasonable if it is logical and makes sense in light of the law and facts. In that case, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that it was not reasonable to deny the child of the Russian spies Canadian citizenship, given the presumption that someone born in Canada is a citizen, and the wording and history of the exceptions to this.

The other standard of review is whether a decision was correct. This standard of review will apply in circumstances including where there is an issue about the legal authority to make a decision at all. That was the case with the CRTC decision: The Supreme Court of Canada concluded that the CRTC lacked the legal authority to require US Super Bowl ads to be shown in Canada. This wasn\\u2019t simply a matter of whether this was a reasonable decision to make.\\xa0

Also discussed on the show was a case involving a British Columbia class action against Ticketmaster, concerning whether Ticketmaster was unlawfully facilitating the automated purchase, and resale, of tickets on a website that is owned by Ticketmaster: StubHub.

The claim alleges breaches of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, as well as the Competition Act.

Ticketmaster provides software, called TradeDesk, which assists with organizing and reselling tickets.

The court decision denied an application by Ticketmaster to stop the British Columbia class action because similar cases were proceeding in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec.

Finally, the considerations for a judge when deciding on the period of parole ineligibility, following a second-degree murder conviction, are discussed.

A transcript of the show and links to cases discussed can be found here.