The Attorney General of Canada appealed a decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal which held that several provisions of the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act were ultra vires Parliament.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal in part.
A majority of the Court found that the provisions regulating controlled activities (such as clinical practice and research) exceeded Parliament's criminal law power and intruded into provincial jurisdiction over health and property and civil rights.
However, provisions prohibiting specific negative practices, such as the use of reproductive material without consent, were upheld as valid criminal law.
