Walker v. Prince Edward Island, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 407
Thomas P. Walker and John M. Robertson Appellants
v.
The Government of Prince Edward Island Respondent
and
The Attorney General of Quebec,
the Attorney General of Manitoba,
the Attorney General of British Columbia,
the Attorney General for Saskatchewan,
the Certified General Accountants
Association of Ontario, the Ordre des
comptables généraux licenciés du Québec,
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Prince Edward Island, and the Charter
Committee on Poverty Issues Interveners
Indexed as: Walker v. Prince Edward Island
File No.: 23861.
1995: May 23.
Present: Lamer C.J. and La Forest, L'Heureux‑Dubé, Sopinka, Gonthier, Cory, Iacobucci and Major JJ.
on appeal from the prince edward island supreme court, appeal division
Constitutional law ‑‑ Charter of Rights ‑‑ Freedom of expression ‑‑ Provincial legislation providing that no person can practise as a public accountant in province unless that person is a member of provincial institute of chartered accountants ‑‑ Whether legislation infringes s. 2(b) of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‑‑ Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).
Constitutional law ‑‑ Charter of Rights ‑‑ Mobility rights ‑‑ Right to gain livelihood in any province ‑‑ Provincial legislation providing that no person can practise as a public accountant in province unless that person is a member of provincial institute of chartered accountants ‑‑ Whether legislation infringes s. 6(2)(b) of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‑‑ Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).
Constitutional law ‑‑ Charter of Rights ‑‑ Life, liberty and security of the person ‑‑ Provincial legislation providing that no person can practise as a public accountant in province unless that person is a member of provincial institute of chartered accountants ‑‑ Whether legislation infringes s. 7 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‑‑ Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).
Statutes and Regulations Cited
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 2(b), 6, 7.
Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).
APPEAL from a judgment of the Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, Appeal Division (1993), 111 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 150, 348 A.P.R. 150, 107 D.L.R. (4th) 69, setting aside a judgment of Campbell J. (1992), 101 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 303, 321 A.P.R. 303, declaring s. 14(1) of the Public Accounting and Auditing Act of Prince Edward Island unconstitutional. Appeal dismissed.
Mary Eberts, Wendy M. Matheson and John Hennessey, for the appellants.
Roger B. Langille, Q.C., and Charles P. Thompson, for the respondent.
Dominique A. Jobin and Kathleen McNicoll, for the intervener the Attorney General of Quebec.
Shawn Greenberg, for the intervener the Attorney General of Manitoba.
Written submissions only by Deborah K. Lovett, for the intervener the Attorney General of British Columbia.
Graeme G. Mitchell, for the intervener the Attorney General for Saskatchewan.
Maurice C. Cullity, Q.C., and Christina H. Medland, for the intervener the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario.
Marcel Rivest, for the intervener the Ordre des comptables généraux licenciés du Québec.
W. Ian C. Binnie, Q.C., and Robert D. Peck, for the intervener the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Prince Edward Island.
Written submissions only by Vince Calderhead, for the intervener the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues.
The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by
1 Lamer C.J. ‑‑ In light of our previous decisions as regards ss. 2(b), 6 and 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we are all of the view that there has been no restriction to those rights in this case. The constitutional questions are answered as follows:
1.Does s. 14(1) of the Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, limit the appellants' rights guaranteed by ss. 2(b), 6 or 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
No.
2.If the answer to question 1 is in the affirmative, is s. 14(1) nevertheless justified by s. 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
The first question is answered in the negative. The second question, therefore, does not arise.
2 The appeal is accordingly dismissed with costs.
Judgment accordingly.
Solicitor for the appellants: Law Office of Mary Eberts, Toronto.
Solicitor for the respondent: The Office of the Attorney General of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown.
Solicitor for the intervener the Attorney General of Quebec: The Department of Justice, Ste‑Foy.
Solicitor for the intervener the Attorney General of Manitoba: The Department of Justice, Winnipeg.
Solicitor for the intervener the Attorney General of British Columbia: The Ministry of the Attorney General, Victoria.
Solicitor for the intervener the Attorney General for Saskatchewan: W. Brent Cotter, Regina.
Solicitors for the intervener the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario: Davies, Ward & Beck, Toronto.
Solicitors for the intervener the Ordre des comptables généraux licenciés du Québec: Rivest, Schmidt, Moreau, Desautels & Tardif, Montreal.
Solicitors for the intervener the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Prince Edward Island: McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto.
Solicitor for the intervener the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues: The B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Vancouver.