The appellant father challenged provisions of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Act that allowed a mother to arbitrarily 'unacknowledge' a father on a birth registration, thereby excluding his particulars and preventing him from participating in choosing the child's surname.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the provisions violated section 15(1) of the Charter by discriminating on the basis of sex, as they exposed fathers to arbitrary exclusion without recourse.
The Court found the infringement was not justified under section 1, as the legislation did not minimally impair fathers' rights.
The provisions were declared unconstitutional, with the declaration suspended for 12 months.
