''Switzman v Elbling and A.G. of Quebec'',

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Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...

decision in which the Court ruled that

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's Act to Protect the Province Against Communistic Propaganda, commonly known as the "Padlock Law", was ''

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 terme ...

'' of the

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. The Court held that the Padlock Law was a statute respecting criminal law, which is the exclusive authority of the Parliament of Canada under the

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. Rand, Kellock, and Abbott JJ further held that the law was ''ultra vires'' because it violated

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 recog ...

guaranteed under an

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springing from the "democratic form of government established in Canada", but this view was not shared by the rest of the majority.

History

Max Bailey, was a resident of a Park Avenue apartment in Montreal. In February 1948, Bailey, a former Montreal City Councillor and a Communist himself, wanted to assign his apartment to John Switzman, a prominent Marxist who wanted to turn the apartment into a local Communist hub. Freda Elbling, the landlord, tried to prevent Switzman from taking the apartment for fear of having her building appropriated by the province under the Padlock Law. Failing that, she applied to the court to have the lease cancelled. In his defence, Switzman challenged the Padlock Law as a violation of freedom of speech and as a law

the power of the provincial government. At trial and on appeal, the courts found in favour of Elbling. In an 8 to 1 decision, the Supreme Court found that the law was ''ultra vires'' and it was struck down.

References

External links

full text of decision from canlii.org
Canadian federalism case law Canadian freedom of expression case law Supreme Court of Canada cases Supreme Court of Canada case articles without infoboxes 1957 in Canadian case law Censorship in Canada {{canada-law-stub