Ali Tahmourpour v. Attorney General of Canada

In this matter Ken was retained to prepare and submit an application to the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower Federal Court decision involving a case in which Ali Tahmourpour, an officer in training with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was found to have been the victim of discrimination. Mr. Tahmourpour believed he had grounds to appeal the remedy he was awarded at the Federal Court of Appeal.

Not all all decisions heard at the Federal Court of Appeal can be appealed as of right. In some cases, the party appealing a lower Court decision must first seek leave (in other words permission from the Court) before an appeal can actually proceed to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. This allows the Supreme Court to pick which cases it will hear. Such cases typically involve matters of significant national or societal importance.

Although Mr. Tahmourpour had been found to have been discriminated against by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and he believed there were strong grounds to proceed with his appeal, the Supreme Court ultimately refused to grant leave to appeal. As is usually the case, no reasons were given by the Supreme Court as to why Mr. Tahmourpour’s application was rejected.

Ken has experience preparing the materials required by the Supreme Court on applications for leave to appeal and is prepared to assist clients with this kind of appellate work.

Full citation:
Ali Tahmourpour v. Attorney General of Canada, 2013 CarswellNat 852, [2013] S.C.C.A. No. 104