''Munro v National Capital Commission'',

966 Year 966 (Roman numerals, CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Arab-Byzantine Wars, Byzantine-Arab War: Arab-Byzantine ...

S.C.R. 663 is a leading

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 the federal peace, order, and good government power, where the Court held that the zoning, expropriation and renovation of land within the National Capital Region, in the vicinity of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, is a matter under the authority of the federal government. Typically, matters of city improvement, zoning and bylaws are in the exclusive power of the provincial government under the

property and civil rights Section 92(13) of the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', also known as the property and civil rights power, grants the provincial legislatures of Canada the authority to legislate on: It is one of three key residuary powers in the ''Constitution Act, 18 ...

power of the Constitution Act, 1867. However, the unique nature of the City of Ottawa in relation to the federal government was the basis of giving authority to the federal government. The interpretation of the "national concern" branch of the peace, order, and good government clause is a significantly broad one. The

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...

, a federal body, sought approval from the Governor General to expropriate land for the creation of a green belt around Ottawa. The proposal was challenged as being beyond the power of the NCC. A unanimous Court held that the NCC plan falls within the "national concern test" of the peace, order, and good government clause. To reach this conclusion the Court examined the pith and substance of the empowering legislation and found that the law was in relation to establishing the national capital region “in order that the nature and character of the seat of the Government of Canada may be in accordance with its national significance.” The Court then allocated the matter to a Constitutional head of power but found that it did not come within either section 92 (the provincial head of power) or section 91(1) (the federal head of power). Instead the Court held that it fell within Section 91 and the "national concern" branch of POGG as it deals with a “single matter of national interest” as in '' Ontario (AG) v Canada Temperance Federation''.

See also