Monique Evans

Monique Evans practises commercial and civil litigation, and transportation law with a particular focus on railway matters.

Monique has acted on matters before BC’s Provincial and Supreme Courts, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Her experience has touched on a variety of industries and subject areas.

Monique has extensive experience using statutory remedies against federal railway companies to obtain better freight rates, terms and conditions, and rail service for shippers, terminals, and other clients. These remedies include level of service complaint proceedings before the Canadian Transportation Agency, final offer arbitration, and arbitration on level of services. Monique also has experience with rail siding and track use agreements, extended interswitching, demurrage, discontinuance, railway supplemental services, challenging railway tariffs, and railway certificates of fitness.

Monique has been recognized as an “Associate to Watch” in Transportation: Rail & Road by Chambers Canada.

Garcha Bros Meat Shop Ltd. v. SJP Enterprises Ltd et al, 2022 BCSC 2009 (assisting Brian Duong and Simone Penney): counsel for the applicant and franchisor Garcha Bros. Meat Shop in successfully obtaining a declaration of contempt of court against defendants acting in contravention of an interim injunction prohibiting the operation of a retail butcher business at the former franchise location, together with fines totalling $25,000, an order of special costs, and a further order prohibiting certain of the defendants from being within 500m of the former franchise location.

Canadian National Railway Company v. Freight Management Association of Canada, 2021 FCA 173: Acted for the Freight Management Association of Canada (FMA) in the Canadian Transportation Agency's first “own motion” investigation into railways’ level of service in Vancouver during the Fall of 2018, and successfully represented FMA in the subsequent appeal by CN. Established that a railway embargo is a prima facie breach of a railways’ level of service obligations and justified only if exceptional, proportionate, targeted and non-discriminatory.

Canadian National Railway Company v. Emerson Milling Inc., 2017 FCA 86, leave to appeal to SCC denied: Acted for a shipper in level of service complaint and subsequent appeals after the shipper was forced to move its loading operations from a CN-owned rail siding in Emerson, MB to a third-party loading facility in Winnipeg. Established that a railway’s level of service obligation to shippers is statutory, not contractual, and that shippers may require a railway to provide service on the railway’s own infrastructure.

Canadian National Railway Company v. Emerson Milling Inc., 2017 FCA 79: Acted for a shipper in the appeal of a level of service complaint decision following poor rail service during the 2013/14 crop year. Affirmed the Canadian Transportation Agency’s approach to determining level of service complaints using its “evaluation approach” in the case of a shipper without a confidential contract.

Publications

Monique Evans, “Parens Patriae and Public Trust: Litigating Environmental Harm Per Se” (2016) 12-1 McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law 1.

News

January 2024

HLC congratulates Monique Evans for her recognition in the 2024 Chambers & Partners directory, showcasing her contributions to the field of Transportation: Rail & Road ( Nationwide).

Hunter Litigation Chambers is pleased and proud to announce the promotion of four Counsel to the firm: Aubin Calvert, Monique Evans, and Nicole Gilewicz, and Julia Roos. These appointments recognize the important contribution each of the new Counsel have made to the firm’s success, and going forward, their increased involvement in decisions concerning the operation and growth of the firm. Please join us in congratulating each of them on this significant and well-deserved achievement!

November 2022

Brian Duong, and Simone Penney represented franchisor Garcha Bros. Meat Shop in successfully obtaining a declaration of contempt of court against defendants acting in contravention of an interim injunction prohibiting the operation of a retail butcher business at the former franchise location, together with fines totalling $25,000, an order of special costs, and a further order prohibiting certain of the defendants from being within 500m of the former franchise location. Monique Evans assisted in the preparation of the materials for the application. A copy of the decision can be found here.

October 2022

Claire Hunter, K.C. and Monique Evans successfully defended an appeal from an order denying a party’s attempt to include allegations of communications at a without prejudice meeting in his amended pleading. The Court confirms that unless settlement privilege has been waived or an exception to privilege applies in the circumstances, matters that are subject to settlement privilege should not be pleaded or the subject of discovery prior to trial. The reasons for judgment are available here.

September 2022

HLC congratulates Monique Evans on being named as an “Associate to Watch” in the 2023 Chambers & Partners directory for her work in Transportation: Rail & Road.

February 2022

Claire Hunter and Monique Evans were successful on behalf of our single purpose real estate holding company client in resisting pleadings amendments on the basis of settlement privilege. Master Vos’ reasons for judgment are available here.