List of Supreme Court of Canada cases - Definition and Overview

This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. For other important cases see List of Judicial Committees of the Privy Council & House of Lords cases, which were precedent in Canada or decisions of the court of last resort prior to the Supreme Court of Canada's complete jurisdiction as the court of last resort of Canada in 1949

Issues in Canadian Federalism

Under Canada's Implied Bill of Rights

• The "Persons Case": Edwards v. Canada (Attorney General) [1928] S.C.R. 276

• Reference Re Alberta Statutes [1938] S.C.R. 100

• Saumur v. The City of Quebec [1953] 2 S.C.R. 299

• Deglman v. Guaranty Trust Co, v. Constantineau [1954] 3 S.C.R. 785

• Switzman v. Elbling [1957] S.C.R. 285

• Canada (A.G.) v. City of Montreal [1978] 2 S.C.R. 770. Beetz J.

After the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1982

• Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., [1985] 1 S.C.R. 295
  • a law generally prohibiting sales on Sunday is an unconstitutional religious-based act and has no secular purpose

• R. v. Oakes [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103
  • established the Oakes test for the application of the Charter's limitations clause

• RWDSU v. Dolphin Delivery Ltd. [1986] 2 S.C.R. 573
  • ruled that the Charter applies to government action, not the common law

• Robichaud v. Canada (Treasury Board) [1987] 2 S.C.R. 84
  • Can an employer be liable for the discriminatory actions of an employee towards other employees.

• Morgentaler et. al. v. Her Majesty The Queen [1988] 1 S.C.R. 30
  • Canada's laws on abortion violate the charter and are unconstitutional

• Ford v. Quebec (A.G.) [1988] 2 S.C.R. 712
  • declared portions of Quebec's Charter of the French Language unconstitutional

• Egan v. Canada [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513
  • established sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Charter

• R. v. Park [1995] 2 S.C.R. 836
  • established the mistaken belief in consent defence

• Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto [1995] 2 S.C.R. 1130
  • established that defamation is not protected by the Charter

• Provincial Judges Reference [1997] 3 S.C.R. 3 Reference re Remuneration of Judges of the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island

• R. v. R.D.S [1997] 3 S.C.R. 484
  • split decision on the flexibility given to judges in using their personal experiences in deciding cases

• Reference re Secession of Quebec [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217
  • ruled that Quebec cannot unilaterally declare independence

• Vriend v. Alberta, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 493
  • found that provincial governments cannot exclude sexual orientation from human rights codes

• R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 SCR 45
  • ruled that aboriginal fishing was not regulated by the government.

• CCH Canada Ltd v. Law Society of Canada [2004] SCC 13
  • established that setting up the facilities that allow copying does not amount to authorizing infringement

• Reference re. Same-Sex Marriage [2004] SCC 79
  • found that the federal government had the jurisdiction to define civil marriage to include same-sex couples

Work in progress (like the rest of Wikipedia). Please note that the brackets around the dates are the standard format of citing Supreme Court of Canada cases in Canada, as the date refers to a particular set of volumes in the Official Reporter series.