Law360 Canada ( January 22, 2025, 10:26 AM EST) -- Appeal by Appellant against Federal Court's dismissal of its judicial review of the Respondent Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food's (“Minister”) order declaring Prince Edward Island (“PEI”) infested with potato wart and restricted the seed potato movement. Potato wart, caused by the fungal pathogen Synchytrium endobioticum, posed a serious threat to potato crops. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (“CFIA”) implemented various mitigation measures to control its spread, including soil sampling and visual inspections. Despite the efforts, new detections occurred in 2020 and 2021, leading to increased regulatory actions. The Appellant argued that the Minister's decision was unreasonable for two reasons: insufficient evidence to establish that PEI was infested with potato wart and the decision being motivated by an improper purpose, namely, to avoid trade impacts on Canada's international potato exports. The Appellant contended that the evidence did not support a reasonable suspicion that potato wart was present in unregulated fields and that the Minister's focus should have been solely on whether PEI was infested. The Respondents maintained that the Minister’s decision was reasonable, supported by evidence of the presence of potato wart in PEI and the potential for its spread. They argued that the Minister’s consideration of trade impacts was relevant given the Plant Protection Act’s (“Act”) purpose to protect the agricultural sector of the Canadian economy....