Multiple appeals and a Crown appeal challenged Ontario's Sunday retail closing regime under division of powers and the Charter.
The Court held the legislation was intra vires provincial authority and that it had a secular common-pause-day purpose, not a religious one.
A majority held the Act infringed the freedom of religion of Saturday-observing retailers by imposing a non-trivial economic burden, but that the infringement was justified under s. 1 because the legislation pursued a pressing social objective and included a constitutionally sufficient exemption scheme.
The s. 7 challenge failed, and no answer was given on s. 15 because it was not yet in force at the relevant time.
The retailer appeals were dismissed and the Crown's appeal against the kosher retailer was allowed.
