The respondent, a fisherman, was denied unemployment insurance benefits based on Regulation 85 of the Unemployment Insurance Regulations, which imposed a shorter qualifying period for fishermen than for other insured persons.
The Federal Court of Appeal held the regulation ultra vires as it conflicted with the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1971.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, agreeing that a different qualifying period was not necessary to extend unemployment insurance to fishermen and that the harsher requirement was not authorized by the Act.
