An application aimed at removing a lodge and three sleep cabins constructed by a big game outfitter has been turfed out by Justice Leigh Gower of the Yukon Supreme Court.

In his decision handed down Friday, Gower found that because the application could have such serious consequences, it does require the personal involvement of the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, and should not be left to department staff.

In dismissing the government request for an order forcing Bonnet Plume Outfitting into court to show proof it had permission to occupy the site on the banks of Bonnet Plume River, Gower points out he will remain as the judge on the file if the parties want to pursue any other matters.

The government maintain the company is occupying the site illegally, as it never received a land use permit for the buildings. Bonnet Plume maintains it did have permission to go ahead with construction in 2005 and 2006.

Under territorial legislation, the government can only remove illegal buildings once there's been a Supreme Court hearing and the court finds the building or buildings to be illegal.

Government spokesman Ron Billingham said this morning staff with Energy, Mines and Resources were scheduled to meet this afternoon with lawyers from the Justice department to discuss the impacts of Gower's decision.

The decision, he said, does not have anything to do with the question of whether the buildings are legal or illegal, but is simply a procedural matter.

Billingham said the government still wants to pursue the removal of the four buildings.

'The buildings are considered illegal, and it has not been proven one way of the other,' he said. 'So our people are going to be looking at all the options and how they should proceed to the next step.'

This is the second time Bonnet Plume Outfitters has successfully argued procedural matters, the first victory coming just under a year ago. The lands branch is not sure whether the company continues to use the hunt camp, but officials maintain it has no authority to do so.

The legal argument earlier this month by Bonnet Plume Outfitting centred around the phrase 'in the opinion of the minister' contained in the section of the Territorial Lands Act used to obtain court orders to force occupants to prove they have a right to be where they are.

Bonnet Plume lawyer Nic Weigelt argued 'in the opinion of the minister' meant exactly that; that the minister had to be directly involved and of the belief that the occupation of land was illegal.

The consequences of an action to remove someone from his or her home or even a part-time dwelling was much too serious a matter to leave to regular department staff, Weigelt argued.

Government lawyer Michael Winstanley countered the phrase 'in the opinion of the minister' is standard legal language in the Yukon and across Canada, and is commonly used to mean in the opinion of qualified staff.

The courts have found that the phrase can be used to give authority for making decisions to ordinary department staff, he said.

Winstanley argued, and the courts have agreed, that to suggest the minister be directly involved in every case where legislation contains the words 'in the opinion of the minister' would be unreasonable, impractical and impossible to work.

In his 17-page decision, Justice Gower acknowledged findings by several courts accepting that 'in the opinion of the minister' can mean department staff who are empowered to make decisions on behalf of the minister.

The courts, Gower noted, have found it would be unworkable to have the minister directly involved in everyday matters guided by legislation where the phrase occurs.

The courts have also found, however, that there can be limitations, and that in some cases involving a matter of significant consequence, 'in the opinion of the minister' means exactly that, the judge ruled.

Gower said removing buildings that somebody has put up can have dire personal and economic consequences, and therefore the minister should be directly involved.

Chris Beacom, the spokesman for the Department of Justice, said Justice staff would be meeting with staff from the land's branch today to deal directly with the implications of Gower's decision on the case of Bonnet Plume Outfitters.

'We have not gone deeper yet to determine what this means for other acts within government,' Beacom said. 'That process will take several days.'