Silos or Not?

 Canada (Health) v Glaxosmithkline Biologicals SA 2020 FCA 135 Rivoalen JA

TFI Foods Ltd v Every Green International Inc 2020 FC 808 McHaffie J

In Canada (Health) v Glaxosmithkline [Shingrix] Rivoalen JA refused to grant the Minister of Health’s request for a stay of pending appeal of 2020 FC 397 (here). In TFI Foods McHaffie J granted an interlocutory injunction in a trademark case. Both, of course, use the same tri-partite test from RJR-MacDonald [1994] 1 SCR 311. I won’t go into the details of either case (for what it’s worth, I agree with both decisions).

Rather, I’ll make one observation. In TFI Foods, McHaffie J stated that “The elements of the RJR-MacDonald test are conjunctive, in that the moving parties must satisfy all three to obtain relief. However, they are not independent silos, and a stronger finding on one or more of the elements may lower the threshold for the other elements” [5]. In Shingrix, Rivoalen JA stated that “All three questions must be answered in the affirmative, and failure on any single question is fatal to the motion for the stay” [9]. Both positions have ample support in the case law. The silos approach is the normal in the Federal Courts, with the irreparable harm factor being the most prominent hard silo, which applicants often fail to escape. The “no silos” approach is dominant in most other Canadian jurisdictions: see eg Potash Corp 2011 SKCA 120 [57]-[58]; Apotex Fermentation 1994 CANLII 16694 (Man CA); Circuit World 100 OAC 221 (ON CA); Imperial Sheet Metal 2007 NBCA 51 [7].

So, silos or not?