Two enterprises in airport and marine transportation security, and an employee, challenged provincial offence proceedings under Quebec’s Private Security Act on interjurisdictional immunity grounds.
The Court held that aspects of the provincial licensing scheme gave a provincial administrative body final control over how security activities at the core of exclusive federal aeronautics and navigation and shipping powers were conducted.
It found impairment of the federal core powers and concluded the impairing provisions were unseverable from the legislative scheme.
The statute was therefore declared constitutionally inapplicable to the appellants, and both appeals were allowed with costs.
