''Irwin Toy Ltd v Quebec (AG)'',
989
Year 989 (Roman numerals, CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to he ...
1 S.C.R. 927 is a landmark
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
decision on
freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
in
section 2(b) of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
. The court held that in order to determine if a breach of section 2(b) had occurred one first had to determine whether the conduct constituted non violent activity which attempted to convey meaning. This changed the law of the constitution of Quebec. The next step was to consider whether the effect or purpose of the legislation was to restrict freedom of expression. Applying the analysis, the Court held that a Quebec law that restricted advertising directed to children was valid law which violated section 2(b) but could be justified under
section 1.
Background
The province of Quebec passed legislation that prohibited "commercial advertising directed at persons under thirteen years of age." The law was challenged on the basis that it violated the freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the ''Charter''.
Reasons of the court
Chief Justice Dickson,
Justice Lamer, and
Justice Wilson wrote the decision of the majority.
Expression
The Justices considered the rationale of the freedom of expression provision and enumerated three grounds:
# seeking and attaining the truth is an inherently good activity;
# participation in social and political decision-making is to be fostered and encouraged; and
# the diversity in forms of individual self-fulfillment and human flourishing ought to be cultivated in an essentially tolerant, indeed welcoming, environment not only for the sake of those who convey a meaning, but also for the sake of those to whom it is conveyed.
The Justices then considered the scope of expression. They defined it broadly as any activity that "attempts to convey meaning". However, it excluded nonsensical activities that are "purely physical and
onot convey or attempt to convey meaning" as well as activities that are of a violent form.
The majority re-affirmed the decision of ''
Ford v. Quebec
''Ford v Quebec (AG)'', 988
Year 988 ( CMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Fall – Emperor Basil II, supported by a contingent of 6,000 Varangians ...
2 SCR 712 is a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision in which the Court struck down part of the ''Charter of the French Language'', commonly known as "Bill 101". This law had restricted the use of commercial signs ...
'' (1988) by finding that freedom of expression included advertising. Accordingly, they found that the Quebec law violated section 2(b).
Justified limitation
The Justices then considered whether the law was justified under section 1. They dismissed the argument that the law was not prescribed by law. A law only needed to have an "intelligible standard" which the Quebec law satisfied.
On the inquiry into minimal impairment the Court held that when the government attempts to justify the necessity of a complete ban, courts will not be restrictive to social sciences, however, the government must establish a "sound evidentiary basis" for their conclusions.
[p. 934]
The Court was unsympathetic to the harm to Irwin. The effects of the ban, said the Court, were not so severe as to override the objective of the ban. The advertisers would always be able to direct ads to adults or use other means to sell children's products.
See also
*
List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (Dickson Court)
This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of Canada from Brian Dickson's appointment as Chief Justice on April 18, 1984, to his retirement on June 30, 1990.
1984
19851989
1990
See also
* List of notable C ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin Toy Ltd. V. Quebec (Attorney General)
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case law
Canadian freedom of expression case law
Supreme Court of Canada cases
1989 in Canadian case law