A federal Crown corporation applied for a declaration that a municipal by-law regulating the placement of community mailboxes and imposing a permit requirement and moratorium was invalid.
The court held the by-law was void for vagueness because it provided no intelligible standards guiding the director’s discretion over permit approvals.
The by-law also conflicted with federal legislation and regulations governing postal services, frustrating the federal purpose of enabling efficient mail delivery.
Applying constitutional doctrines including paramountcy, interjurisdictional immunity, and federal Crown immunity, the court found the municipality had impermissibly intruded into the federal jurisdiction over postal services.
The by-law was therefore inoperative and of no force or effect in relation to community mailboxes.
