- Parties: The applicant was Christopher Priest. The respondent was the Attorney General of Canada. 

- Subject Matter: The applicant, who worked for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), applied for the position of research and technology manager. His application was screened out at an early stage since he did not meet the minimum education requirements. He believed that he was treated arbitrarily and that his application was screened out due to an education requirement that discriminated against him based on his age. The hiring manager’s individual feedback decision stated that the education requirement did not discriminate based on age. The applicant successfully challenged that decision via a judicial review application. On reconsideration, the manager found that the applicant did not receive arbitrary treatment in the assessment of his educational credentials. The applicant sought judicial review of the second individual feedback decision. 

- Ruling: The court ruled in the respondent’s favour and dismissed the judicial review application. The court found that the applicant failed to establish that the decision was unreasonable. Under the CRA’s staffing policies, employees screened from a staffing process could request recourse in the form of individual feedback, the court noted. The manager followed the individual feedback policies and reconsidered the applicant’s individual feedback request in a procedurally fair manner, the court said. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Oct. 31, 2023. The court released its decision on May 22, 2024. 

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court. 

- Amount: The court awarded the respondent costs of $750.