Section 92(13) of the ''

Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

'', 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 ''

'', together with the federal power of

peace, order and good government In many Commonwealth jurisdictions, the phrase "peace, order, and good government" (POGG) is an expression used in law to express the legitimate objects of legislative powers conferred by statute. The phrase appears in many Imperial Acts of Par ...

and the provincial power over matters of a local or private nature in the province.

Extent

Provincial jurisdiction over property and civil rights embraces all private law transactions, which includes virtually all commercial transactions. Note that "civil rights" in this context does not refer to

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

in the more modern sense of political liberties. Rather, it refers to private rights enforceable through civil courts. This power is generally balanced against the federal trade and commerce power and

criminal law power Section 91(27) of the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', also known as the criminal law power, grants the Parliament of Canada the authority to legislate on: Scope of the federal power Section 91(27) is by and large the broadest of the enumerated powe ...

. With respect to the former, In the '' Insurance Reference'',

Viscount Haldane A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

noted that: It is the most powerful and expansive of the provincial constitutional provisions, and is capable of being applied in general matters and in specific cases, as noted by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

: The power has even been used to dissolve specific

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...

s, such as one issued against the KVP Company in 1948 for discharging noxious

effluent Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pollu ...

into the Spanish River. Property and civil rights include: :* rights arising from contract :* certain powers to prevent crime :* powers to control transactions taking place wholly within the province, even if the products themselves are imported and, generally, :* regulation of trade and industry within the province, including ::* labour relations and the regulation of professions, ::* trading in securities, and ::* manufacturing, By themselves, incidental effects of provincial regulations on a federal sphere of influence do not change their true nature. Moreover, the fact that a valid provincial regulation may affect an export trade or the cost of doing business is similarly not conclusive of determining whether it is made "in relation to" that power. If a provincial law affects rights of individuals outside the province: :* if it is, in

pith and substance 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. The doctrine is primarily used when a law is challenged on the basis that one level of ...

, provincial, ancillary effects on the rights of individuals outside the province are irrelevant, but :* where it is, in pith and substance, legislation in relation to the rights of individuals outside the province, it will be ''

ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...

'' the province''

Re Upper Churchill Water Rights Reversion Act ''Reference Re Upper Churchill Water Rights Reversion Act (Nfld)'' 9841 S.C.R. 297 is a famous constitutional reference question put to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court found that legislation passed by the government of Newfoundland to take b ...

References

{{Constitution of Canada, confederation Constitution of Canada Federalism in Canada

Extent

Further reading

References