Séminaire de Chicoutimi v. La Cité de Chicoutimi

Séminaire de Chicoutimi v. La Cité de Chicoutimi

The impugned statutory provisions (s.42 of 13 George VI c.59 and s.411 R.S.Q. 1964 c.193) are ultra vires the provincial legislature because they confer on a provincially constituted court jurisdiction that, in substance, corresponds to the jurisdiction exercised in 1867 by courts enumerated in s.96 of the BNA Act; therefore the Provincial (Magistrate’s) Court could not validly exercise authority to quash municipal by-laws on grounds of illegality in these circumstances, and the Court of Appeal correctly reversed the Provincial Court and referred the petition to the Superior Court; appeal and cross-appeal dismissed.

Citation
[1973] SCR 681
Parties
Plaintiff/appellant: Séminaire de Chicoutimi; Appellants: Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Province of Quebec; Defendant/respondent: The City of Chicoutimi
Court
Supreme Court of Canada
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
24 May 1972
Procedural Posture
Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada Constitutional Law / Appeal and Cross Appeal From Court of Queen's Bench, Appeal Side, Province of Quebec; Decision on Jurisdiction and Referral
Legal Topics
Section 96 British North America Act, Jurisdiction of Provincial Courts, Ultra Vires, Quashing Municipal by Laws, Evocation, Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 164 and 846, Referral to Competent Court
Source Language
English
Constitutional Law Municipal Law Civil Procedure Administrative Law Section 96 British North America Act Jurisdiction of Provincial Courts Ultra Vires Quashing Municipal by Laws +3 more

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Parties

Séminaire de Chicoutimi

Plaintiff/appellant

Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Province of Quebec

Appellants

The City of Chicoutimi

Defendant/respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada Constitutional Law / Appeal and Cross Appeal From Court of Queen's Bench, Appeal Side, Province of Quebec; Decision on Jurisdiction and Referral

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether s.42 of 13 George VI c.59 and s.411 of the Cities and Towns Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c.193, are ultra vires the provincial legislature
  2. 2 Whether a Provincial (Magistrate’s) Court presided over by provincially appointed judges can hear petitions to quash municipal by-laws on grounds of illegality
  3. 3 Whether evocation is an exclusive or alternate remedy and whether the Provincial Court could decide constitutionality

Ratio Decidendi

The impugned statutory provisions (s.42 of 13 George VI c.59 and s.411 R.S.Q. 1964 c.193) are ultra vires the provincial legislature because they confer on a provincially constituted court jurisdiction that, in substance, corresponds to the jurisdiction exercised in 1867 by courts enumerated in s.96 of the BNA Act; therefore the Provincial (Magistrate’s) Court could not validly exercise authority to quash municipal by-laws on grounds of illegality in these circumstances, and the Court of Appeal correctly reversed the Provincial Court and referred the petition to the Superior Court; appeal and cross-appeal dismissed.