The Canadian Human Rights Commission sought an interlocutory injunction from the Federal Court to prevent the respondents from communicating telephonic hate messages pending a human rights tribunal decision.
The Federal Court granted the injunction, but the respondents subsequently set up a new phone line in the US and referred callers to it, leading to a contempt of court finding.
The Federal Court of Appeal set aside the injunction for lack of jurisdiction but upheld the contempt finding.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the Federal Court does have jurisdiction to issue an injunction under s. 44 of the Federal Court Act, and affirmed the contempt finding because the respondents knowingly violated a valid court order.
