Inge Freund

A criminal appeal concerning a prosecution of a corporation for selling goods on Sunday contrary to the Lord’s Day Act.

The Court held that any accused may challenge the constitutionality of the law under which it is prosecuted, and that recourse to s. 24 was unnecessary where the challenge was to the legislation itself under s. 52.

The Act’s purpose was found to be the compulsion of Christian Sabbath observance, which infringed freedom of conscience and religion under s. 2(a) of the Charter.

That infringement was not saved by s. 1, although the statute was held to fall within Parliament’s criminal law power under s. 91(27).

The appellant was charged under a Calgary municipal by-law for being on a street for the purpose of prostitution.

She challenged the constitutional validity of the by-law, arguing it invaded the federal government's exclusive jurisdiction over criminal law.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the by-law was ultra vires the province and the municipality, as its pith and substance was an attempt to control or punish prostitution rather than to regulate street use or public nuisance.

The appeal was allowed and the acquittal restored.