Robert Allan Maxwell

Appeal concerning whether a purchaser of residential rental premises from a mortgagee exercising a power of sale takes title subject to an existing tenancy agreement.

The court held that ss. 46 and 47 of the Mortgages Act were enacted to protect tenants from disruption caused by mortgage default and apply to a purchaser who obtains title through a power of sale transaction.

As a deemed landlord, the purchaser was bound by the tenant's lease, and those protections prevailed over any conflicting effect of s. 44 of the Land Titles Act.

The appeal was allowed, the Divisional Court order was set aside, and the matter was remitted for determination of the remaining grounds of appeal.

The respondent was charged under a municipal by-law that prohibited all postering on public property after he affixed posters to hydro poles to advertise his band's performances.

He challenged the constitutionality of the by-law under s. 2(b) of the Charter.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that postering conveys a meaning and is a protected form of expression under s. 2(b).

The Court found that the absolute ban on postering on public property infringed freedom of expression.

While the by-law's objectives of preventing litter, aesthetic blight, and safety hazards were pressing and substantial, the complete ban did not minimally impair the right and could not be justified under s. 1 of the Charter.