New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory, who presided over a recent case involving provincial tenancy officers and rent increases, has come under scrutiny due to her ownership of a five-unit apartment building in Fredericton, according to property records.
While this ownership doesn’t inherently imply a conflict of interest, legal experts have raised concerns about the situation. Jula Hughes, the dean of Law at Lakehead University and an expert in judicial ethics, in a CBC News report, emphasized the importance of both real and perceived impartiality in judicial matters.
Gregory’s appointment to the Court of King’s Bench in November 2020, after a lengthy career as a New Brunswick Crown prosecutor, raised eyebrows due to her continued ownership of the apartment building near the University of New Brunswick’s Fredericton campus. Property records show Gregory and a former spouse purchased the building in 2002, with her assuming sole ownership in 2013.
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The issue at hand revolves around a case last spring, where two tenants in Saint John applied for a review of a $200-per-month rent increase. A new provincial policy introduced for 2023 allowed for rent increases exceeding 7.3 percent to be phased in over several years. Tenancy officers found the increase justifiable but ordered it to be spread over three years.
Gregory’s ruling contended that the Residential Tenancies Tribunal’s discretion in awarding phased rent increases is not automatic and that the landlord should have been given an opportunity to voice objections. Her interpretation of the legislation creating the policy led her to this decision.
Legal experts, such as Hughes, argue that the public must view judges as having no personal interest or entanglement in the cases they handle. Gregory’s involvement in a case potentially affecting her own rental property is seen as problematic in this regard.
Furthermore, guidelines published by the Canadian Judicial Council discourage judges from participating in business enterprises. The guidelines allow for “passive” investments, but these must require little active management. Gregory’s ownership of the apartment building remains in a grey area, as it caters to students and may not fit the criteria of a passive investment.
Legal experts agree that, regardless of the propriety of her property ownership, it would have been essential for Justice Gregory to disclose her status as a landlord to alert all parties to a possible conflict of interest. Whether this disclosure occurred is still uncertain.
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