COURT OF APPEAL Democracy Watch and Wayne Crookes (Petitioners) The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, the Lieutenant Governor in Council

The plain language of the Constitution Act, the Legislature’s purpose, and the surrounding context all indicate that the Legislature intended to bind the Premier to a cycle of fixed election dates, subject only to the Lieutenant Governor’s discretion in situations of non- confidence. [...] The government of the day had the confidence of the Legislature: the Premier’s party held a slight minority of the seats in the Legislature, but governed with the written agreement of three additional MLAs (two members of the Green Party and one independent MLA). [...] The Premier’s party won a majority of the seats in the Legislature, and the Premier retained his position as the head of the government.13 C. [...] The plain language of the statute, the Legislature’s purpose, and the statutory context all indicate that the Legislature intended to bind the Premier to a cycle of fixed election dates, subject only to the Lieutenant Governor’s discretion in situations of non-confidence. [...] As stated by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, “legality lies at the heart of the underlying application”.48 This appeal concerns the legality of the exercise of the statutory power of dissolution—a matter squarely within the supervisory authority of the courts.49 39.