Point: The judge has made a decision but not made an order.

Until an order be made, this

application should be adjourned due to the fact that there is already an existing order he
wants to override.

ORDER VS DECISION

[65] It is the nature of the relief that is granted, not the manner in which it is
granted, which distinguishes a judgment from an order. Both are final decisions. A
judgment is a final decision regarding the underlying issues in a cause of action. An order
is a final decision regarding a procedural question or an issue collateral to the issues in
the underlying action: Alberta Turkey Producers v. Lethbridge (City of), 2006 ABQB
283, 399 A.R. 259 at para. 22.

[66] An order is granted on the merits after the court has considered the strength of
each side’s case. A consent order has been described as a contract, although it has also
been said that it is more accurate to describe it as evidence of a contract. A consent order
sets out, in the form of an order, the agreement which the consenting parties have made:
155569 Can. Ltd. v. 248524 Alta., 1992 CanLII 14204 (AB KB), 126 A.R. 396, [1992]
A.J. No. 135 (Q.B.). Simonelli v. Ayron Developments Inc., 2010 ABQB 565

[19] Rule 390 of the Alberta Rules of Court reads:

390(1) Any order may be set aside, varied or discharged on notice by the judge
who granted it.
(2) On consent of all parties interested the court may set aside, vary or discharge
any order.

[21] Rule 390 only applies to orders. It does not apply to a true judgment, even if it
is called an order (Olsen v. Groome (2004), 365 A.R. 188, 2004 ABQB 923 at para. 26;
Karaha Bodas Co. v. Perusahaan Pertambangan Minyak Dan Gas Bumi Negara
(2003), 334 A.R. 329, 2003 ABQB 168 at para. 57).

[22] A judgment decides the parties’ rights or a controversy with finality while an
order generally is made during the progress of a matter to settle a procedural question or a
collateral issue. The nature of the relief granted and not the manner in which it is granted
is determinative of whether the decision is a judgment or an order (Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce v. Bury et al. (1979), 1979 CanLII 1121 (AB KB), 103 D.L.R. (3d)
560 (Alta. Q.B.); Karaha at para. 57).

[24] Once an order has been drawn up, signed and entered, it is final and the only
available recourse is appeal. The court is not functus officio until that point (Stevenson v.
Dandy, 1918 CanLII 358 (AB CA), [1918] 3 W.W.R. 662 (Alta. S.C.A.D.); 369413
Alberta Ltd. v. Pocklington (2000), 1999 ABQB 936 (CanLII), 79 Alta. L.R. (3d) 222 at
paras. 13 to 18(Q.B.), rev’d in part on other grounds 2005 ABCA 376). A formal Order
 reflecting my judgment of October 19, 2005 has not yet been entered. Therefore, I have
the power to re-open the judgment to admit new evidence or to hear further argument.
While my discretion to do so is relatively broad, it is to be exercised cautiously to avoid
abuse of the court process (Clayton v. British American Securities Ltd., 1934 CanLII
229 (BC CA), [1935] 1 D.L.R. 432 at 440 (B.C.C.A.); Stevenson; Kay v. Wirstiuk
(1977), 1977 CanLII 673 (AB KB), 8 A.R. 405, [1978] 1 W.W.R. 317 (S.C.T.D.); Pro-
Express Ltd. v. Thew (1996), 1996 CanLII 19953 (AB KB), 185 A.R. 285 at para. 5
(Q.B.)). According to Veit J. in Dell Chemical & Marketing Ltd. v. Aquasol
International Inc., 2000 ABQB 930 at para. 42, “exceptional circumstances are required
before a court will grant an application for a re-hearing” and the onus is on the applicant
to establish that there are exceptional circumstances.

[25] It is appropriate for a court to exercise its discretion to allow counsel to re-
visit issues or to make further submissions before a judgment has been entered if doing so
is necessary to prevent a miscarriage of justice (Begro Construction Ltd. v. St. Mary
River Irrigation District (1994), 1994 CanLII 18375 (AB KB), 167 A.R. 164 at para. 3
(Q.B.); I.C.B.C. v. Dommasch (1978), 1978 CanLII 293 (BC SC), 93 D.L.R. (3d) 294, 8
B.C.L.R. 241 at 245 to 246 (S.C.); Sales v. Calgary Stock Exchange, 1931 CanLII 600
(AB KB), [1931] 3 W.W.R. 392 at 394 (Alta. S.C.)). It may also be justified when there
is new evidence that was not available at the initial application or when the judge is
satisfied the original judgment was in error as a result of material evidence having been
overlooked or misconstrued, or the law misapplied (Sykes v. Sykes (1995), 1995 CanLII
2387 (BC CA), 13 R.F.L. (4th) 273 at para. 10 (B.C.C.A.); Dell at para. 52).

[31] Finality in litigation is of fundamental importance Alberta Turkey

Producers v. Leth, 2006 ABQB 283 (CanLII)

Reasons for Judgment

These are formal written reasons that set out the Court’s disposition of a case and offer
detailedreasons for the decision. They normally set out the facts of the case in detail,
outline the legal issues and argument before the Court, and show the logical process by
which the Court reached its decision.
Judges almost never use formal written reasons to confirm oral judgments. They use
Reasons for Judgment to pronounce on the more difficult or complicated cases before
them, upon which they reserved their decision.

Order
The Order is a document prepared by counsel after they receive the judgment. It records
the result of the judgment, not any reasons given by the judge. The successful counsel
may file the Order directly if all counsel present agree to its contents. If there is
disagreement, the presiding judge may settle what the terms of the Order should be.
 There is no official, permanent record of an unrecorded oral judgment other than the
Order filed with the Clerk of the Court.

Adjournment

[17] There is no dispute that the adjournment of a hearing is a discretionary matter.

The paramount consideration is whether an adjournment is necessary to ensure a
fair hearing on the merits of the matter. The discretion must be exercised in accordance
with the interests of justice, which, in turn, requires a balancing of the interests of each of
the parties: Cal-Wood Door, a division of Timberland Inc. v. Olma, [1984] BCJ No. 1953
(CA). V. P. v Minister of Employment and Social Development, 2016 CanLII 59196
(SST)