Life Underwriters Assn. of Canada v. Provincial Assn. of Quebec Life Underwriters, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 449

The Life Underwriters Association of Canada/ L'Association des assureurs-vie du Canada Appellant

v.

L'Association des intermédiaires en assurance de personnes du Québec and the Attorney General of Quebec Respondents

and

The Attorney General of Canada, the Attorney General of Manitoba and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Interveners

Indexed as: Life Underwriters Assn. of Canada v. Provincial Assn. of Quebec Life Underwriters

File No.: 22109.

1992: February 26.

Present: La Forest, L'Heureux-Dubé, Gonthier, Cory, McLachlin, Stevenson and Iacobucci JJ.

on appeal from the federal court of appeal

Constitutional law -- Division of powers -- Insurance -- Life insurance agents association incorporated by federal statute conferring a title -- Power to regulate activity provincial -- Conferring and holding of a title a neutral act and not necessarily tied to regulation of a profession and therefore not constrained by division of powers -- Act to incorporate The Life Underwriters' Association of Canada, S.C. 1924, c. 104, s. 2(e).

Statutes and Regulations Cited

Act to incorporate The Life Underwriters' Association of Canada, S.C. 1924, c. 104, s. 2(e).

APPEAL from a judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, 1990 CanLII 13065 (FCA), [1990] 3 F.C. 500, 33 C.P.R. (3d) 293, 112 N.R. 34, 49 B.L.R. 225, allowing in part an appeal from a judgment Dubé J., 1988 CanLII 9435 (FC), [1989] 1 F.C. 570, 22 C.P.R. (3d) 1, 33 C.C.L.I. 62, 19 C.I.P.R. 261, dismissing the action and striking appellant's trade marks. Appeal dismissed.

Roger T. Hughes, Q.C., and Stephen M. Lane, for the appellant.

Huges G. Richard, for the respondent l'Association des intermédiaires en assurance de personnes du Québec.

Alain Gingras, for the respondent the Attorney General of Quebec.

James M. Mabbutt, Q.C., for the intervener the Attorney General of Canada.

Shawn Greenberg, for the intervener the Attorney General of Manitoba.

Raynold Langlois, Q.C., and Siri Genik, for the intervener Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

//La Forest J.//

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

La Forest J.-- The Court is ready to hand down judgment. We are all of the view that the appeal should be allowed for the reasons given by the dissenting judge, Marceau J.A., of the Federal Court of Appeal in the following passage from his reasons, 1990 CanLII 13065 (FCA), [1990] 3 F.C. 500, at p. 510:

I do not see why the mere conferring of a title would, under the Constitution, be reserved exclusively to the legislative power having authority to regulate the profession to which the title could be somehow related. To be called professional, it seems to me, a title, like a certificate, must be directly linked to the exercise of the profession; it must have consequences as to the right and ability of its holder to practice [sic] the profession. The conferring and holding of a professional title in that sense may, of course, be part of the regulation of the profession, but otherwise the conferring and holding of a title is a neutral act, it seems to me, unconstrained by the division of powers.

The appeal is, therefore, allowed with costs against the Attorney General of Quebec. The judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal is set aside in so far as it holds unconstitutional s. 2(e) of the Act to incorporate The Life Underwriters' Association of Canada, S.C. 1924, c. 104, and that provision is declared intra vires the Parliament of Canada.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitors for the appellant: Sim, Hughes, Dimock, Toronto.

Solicitors for the respondent L'Association des intermédiaires en assurance de personnes du Québec: Leger, Robic & Richard, Montréal.

Solicitor for the respondent the Attorney General of Quebec: The Department of Justice, Ste-Foy.

Solicitor for the intervener the Attorney General of Canada: John C. Tait, Ottawa.

Solicitor for the intervener the Attorney General of Manitoba: The Deputy Attorney General of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

Solicitors for the intervener the Canadian Institute of Actuaries: Langlois Robert, Montréal.