Are judicial review proceedings a condition precedent to a damages action for abuse of power?

There is considerable debate in Canada as to when judicial review proceedings are a condition precedent to the bringing of an action for damages. Certainly there are cases in which parties have succeeded in suing for abuse of power without first taking steps to overturn the impugned administrative act or to have it declared a nullity – perhaps the most famous such case is Roncarelli v. Duplesis, 1959 CanLII 50 (SCC), [1959] S.C.R. 121.

In recent years, however, beginning with Canada v. Grenier, 2005 FCA 348, 262 D.L.R. (4th) 337, the federal courts have developed a line of authority that takes the position that an action for damages based on unlawful administrative acts cannot proceed unless judicial review proceedings challenging the validity of those acts has first been brought in a timely manner.