The appellants sought to restore mandatory minimum fines imposed on a corporation under Quebec's Building Act after the Court of Appeal held that s. 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms could apply to corporations.
All nine justices of the Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, unanimously concluding that s. 12 does not protect corporations from cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
The majority, writing jointly through Brown and Rowe JJ., held that the text 'cruel and unusual' inherently denotes a protection only human beings can enjoy, and that the concept of human dignity anchoring s. 12 is inextricably linked to natural persons.
Abella J., concurring with the result on behalf of three justices, reached the same conclusion through a broader purposive analysis emphasising the human-dignity foundation of s. 12, while cautioning against placing undue primacy on textual analysis or erecting barriers to the use of international and comparative law sources.
Kasirer J. concurred briefly, agreeing with the dissenting Court of Appeal judge that it would distort the ordinary meaning of the word 'cruel' to say that a corporate entity could be subjected to it.
