In Canadian Constitutional law, the Constitution Act, 1867 provides the government with the authority to legislate on matters of criminal law and quasi-criminal law. Canadian constitutional law is the area of Canadian law relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Canada by the Courts. The Constitution Act 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act 1867, and still known informally as the BNA Act) constitutes a major part of Criminal law in Canada is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. The primary criminal law power is granted to the federal government under section 91(27). Additional criminal law-related powers are available to the provincial governments under sections 92(14) and 92(15).

Criminal law power

Section 91(27) extends exclusive legislative authority to the Parliament in matters of "Criminal Law, except the Constitution of Court of Criminal jurisdiction, but including the Procedure in Criminal Matters. " This federal power is by and large the broadest of the enumerated powers allocated to the federal government. ^[1]

The meaning of the phrase "criminal law" was historically a matter of debate. It was first defined by the Privy Council in the Board of Commerce case as that which the "subject matter is one which by its very nature belongs to the domain of criminal jurisprudence". Canada v Alberta 1 AC 191 - commonly known as the Board of Commerce case - is a Canadian constitutional decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council This definition was found to be overly narrow as it froze the definition of 91(27) to only include matters that were considered criminal during confederation. The provision was reinterpreted in PATA v. Canada where instead the Privy Council used a very broad definition describing it as any law containing a prohibition with penal consequences. Proprietary Articles Trade Association v Attorney General of Canada, A

The modern interpretation was finally articulated in the Margarine Reference where the Court stated that criminal law consisted of a prohibition with penal consequences and a legitimate public purpose. Reference re Validity of Section 5(a of the Dairy Industry Act (1949 also known as the Margarine Reference or as Can The Court enumerated a number of valid public purposes which included "public peace, order, security, health, morality. " Other public purposes were eventually added including "environment". ^[2]

Provincial regulatory powers

The province retains some power over criminal law through a number of constitutional provisions. Under section 92(15) the provinces are able to impose "Punishment by Fine, Penalty, or Imprisonment for enforcing any Law of the Province made in relation to any Matter coming within any of the Classes of Subjects enumerated" within section 92. This means that a province can attach criminal penalties to valid provincial laws. Consequently, there is frequently debate over whether a provincial law is intruding upon the federal criminal law power.

Where the province enacts a regulatory scheme that contains penalty and concerns matters normally within its jurisdiction the law is typically upheld. In Bedard v. Dawson, a provincial law that shutdown "disorderly houses" within the meaning of the Criminal Code was held to be in relation to property and civil rights. Bedard v Dawson, SCR 681 is a leading constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. Provincial driving offences that overlapped with federal driving offences have been upheld as regulation of highway traffic. ^[3]

Likewise, penal laws regulating parades in the streets^[4] and film censorship^[5] were upheld as matters of a local nature. However, regulation of activities in the street have not always been upheld. In Westendorp v. The Queen (1983) the Court struck down a provincial law prohibiting persons remaining in the street for the purposes of prostitution as it was attempting to "control or punish prostitution". Westendorp v The Queen, 1 SCR 43 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the Constitution 's criminal law power

Many provincial licensing schemes enacted under section 92(9) ^[6] have contained penal provisions that have been challenged. In Rio Hotel Ltd. v. New Brunswick (Liquor Licensing Board) (1987) a provincial licensing scheme that prevented "nude entertainment" was upheld as law "regulating entertainment" as a means to increase sales even though there was a similar Criminal Code provision concerning nude dancing. Rio Hotel Ltd v New Brunswick (Liquor Licensing Board 2 SCR 59 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the Constitution's Criminal law power

Notes

1. ^ "s. 91(27) of the Constitution must be read as assigning to Parliament exclusive jurisdiction over criminal law in the widest sense of the term" Scowby v. Glendenning, [1986] 2 S. C. R. 226 at 238.
2. ^ R. v. Hydro-Québec
3. ^ see Provincial Secretary of Prince Edward Island v. Egan (1941) and O'Grady v. Sparling. R v Hydro-Québec, 3 SCR 213 is a leading constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. Provincial Secretary of Prince Edward Island v Egan, SCR 396 is a famous constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. O'Grady v Sparling, SCR 804 was a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision on the constitutionality of overlapping federal and provincial laws
4. ^ Dupond v. Montreal (1978)
5. ^ Nova Scotia Board of Censors v. McNeil (1978)
6. ^ gives provincial jurisdiction over "Shop, Saloon, Tavern, Auctioneer, and other Licences" in order to raise revenues for local purposes. Attorney General of Canada and Dupond v City of Montreal, 2 S Nova Scotia (Board of Censors v McNeil, 2 SCR 662 is a famous pre- Charter decision from the Supreme Court of Canada on Freedom of expression

Constitution of Canada v • d • e
Constitution Act, 1867
Division of powers | Peace, order and good government | Criminal law power | Trade and Commerce clause | Works and Undertakings (Declaratory Power) | Property and civil rights | Disallowance and reservation
Canada Act 1982
Constitution Act, 1982
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms | Aboriginal Rights clause | Amending formula
List of Canadian constitutional documents
History of the Constitution
Royal Proclamation of 1763 | Quebec Act | Constitutional Act of 1791 | Act of Union 1840 | British North America Acts | Statute of Westminster 1931
Constitutional debate
Fulton-Favreau formula | Victoria Charter | Meech Lake Accord | Charlottetown Accord | Calgary Declaration | Other unsuccessful amendments
Interpretation of the Constitution
Pith and substance | Double aspect | Paramountcy | Living tree | Implied Bill of Rights | Dialogue principle | Interjurisdictional immunity

The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's Constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions The Constitution Act 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act 1867, and still known informally as the BNA Act) constitutes a major part of Canadian federalism is one of the three pillars of the constitutional order along with Responsible government and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In many Commonwealth jurisdictions the phrase "peace order and good government" is an expression used in law to express the legitimate objects of Legislative In Canadian constitutional law, section 91(2 of the Constitution Act 1867 provides the federal government with the authority to legislate on matters related to the In Canada, the Local Works and Undertakings clause under section 92(10 of the Constitution Act 1867 divides communication and transportation-related matters In Canadian constitutional law, section 92(13 of the Constitution Act 1867 provides the provincial government with the exclusive authority to legislate on matters In Canadian constitutional law, disallowance and reservation are constitutional powers to reject any bill passed by Parliament or any legislature in Canada on the The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c 11 is an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament that severed all remaining legislative dependence of Canada The Constitution Act 1982 (Schedule B of the Canada Act 1982 (UK is a part of the Constitution of Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a Bill of rights entrenched in the Section thirty-five of the Constitution Act 1982 provides constitutional protection to the aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Amendments to the Constitution of Canada are changes to the Constitution of Canada initiated by the government The following is a list of pre-1982 English British and Canadian legislation that forms part of the Constitution of Canada. The Constitutional history of Canada begins with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, in which France ceded most of New France to Great Britain The Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763 by King George III following Great Britain 's acquisition of French territory The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 14 Geo The Constitutional Act of 1791 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (1791 (31 Geo The Act of Union (3 & 4 Vict c 35 passed in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and Upper Canada The British North America Acts 1867&ndash1975 are the original names of a series of Acts at the core of the Constitution of Canada. The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (22 & 23 Geo The Constitutional debate of Canada is an ongoing debate covering various political issues regarding the fundamental law of the country The Fulton-Favreau formula was a proposed formula of amendment of the Constitution of Canada developed by federal justice minister E The Victoria Charter was a set of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada in 1971. The Meech Lake Accord was a set of failed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the provincial The Charlottetown Accord was a package of constitutional amendments proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. The Calgary Declaration, also known as the Calgary Accord, was an agreement made between most premiers of the Provinces and territories of Canada regarding how to Since the Constitution of Canada was patriated in 1982 there have been a number of failed attempts to amend the document under the new Amending formula Canadian constitutional law is the area of Canadian law relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Canada by the Courts. Pith and substance is a legal doctrine in Canadian constitutional interpretation used to determine under which head of power a given piece of legislation falls Double aspect is a legal doctrine in Canadian constitutional law that allows for laws to be created by both provincial and federal governments in relation to the same subject matter In Canadian constitutional law the doctrine of paramountcy establishes that where there is a conflict between valid provincial and federal laws the federal law will prevail and the provincial "Living tree" redirects here For the biological sense of the living tree see Tree In Canadian law, the living tree doctrine The Implied Bill of Rights is a judicial theory in Canadian jurisprudence that recognizes that certain basic principles are underlying the Constitution of Canada. In Canadian constitutional law, the dialogue principle is an approach to the interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms where Judicial In Canadian Constitutional law, interjurisdictional immunity is the legal doctrine that prevents a law from being applied to matters outside of the constitutional jurisdiction

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