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In his battle for Canadian citizenship, Alexander Vavilov got an opportunity denied to the owners of B.C.'s Universal Ostrich Farms on Thursday — a chance to argue his case before Canada's top court.
In the process, the son of Russian spies set a legal threshold for decision-making "reasonableness" that would doom the B.C. birds six years later.
That threshold — and Vavilov's name — are plastered all over the lower court decisions the Supreme Court of Canada refused to reconsider this week, providing justification for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) decision to order a cull of hundreds of ostriches last December.
WATCH | Supreme Court dismisses appeal to stop ostrich cull: Sombre mood at B.C. ostrich farm after Supreme Court dismisses appeal to stay cull | Duration 2:48 CBC's Caroline Barghout reports from Edgewood, B.C., after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in a case related to a planned cull at the Universal Ostrich Farm.
'Coherent and unified approach to judicial review'
Although the top court never gives reasons for dismissing a case, the Federal Court
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