What is the test for appeal from the disposition?

With respect to the appeal from the disposition, it is well-established that in order to overturn a penalty or disposition imposed by a regulatory tribunal, an appellant must show that the decision-maker made an error in principle or that the penalty or disposition was “clearly unfit”: Mitelman v. College of Veterinarians of Ontario, 2020 ONSC 3039 (Div. Ct.) at para. 18.

In the criminal law context, case law in relation to a similar appellate standard of review describes the threshold for appellate intervention as a requirement to show that a sentence is: “demonstrably unfit”, “clearly unreasonable”, “clearly or manifestly excessive”, “clearly excessive or inadequate”, or representing a “substantial and marked departure” from penalties in similar cases. This high threshold also applies in the administrative law context. To be clearly unfit, a penalty or disposition must be disproportionate or fall outside the range of penalties for similar offences in similar circumstances. A fit penalty is guided by an assessment of the facts of the particular case and the penalties imposed in other cases involving similar infractions and circumstances: College of Physicians and Surgeons v. Peirovy, 2018 ONCA 420 at paras. 56-57.