Walker v. Prince Edward Island, 1995 CanLII 92 (SCC), [1995] 2 SCR 407

Walker v. Prince Edward Island, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 407

Thomas P. Walker and John M. Robertson Appellants

v.

The Government of Prince Edward Island Respondent

and

The Attorney General of Quebec, the Attorney General of Manitoba, the Attorney General of British Columbia, the Attorney General for Saskatchewan, the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario, the Ordre des comptables généraux licenciés du Québec, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Prince Edward Island, and the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues Interveners

Indexed as: Walker v. Prince Edward Island

File No.: 23861.

1995: May 23.

Present: Lamer C.J. and La Forest, L'Heureux‑Dubé, Sopinka, Gonthier, Cory, Iacobucci and Major JJ.

on appeal from the prince edward island supreme court, appeal division

Constitutional law ‑‑ Charter of Rights ‑‑ Freedom of expression ‑‑ Provincial legislation providing that no person can practise as a public accountant in province unless that person is a member of provincial institute of chartered accountants ‑‑ Whether legislation infringes s. 2(b) of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‑‑ Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).

Constitutional law ‑‑ Charter of Rights ‑‑ Mobility rights ‑‑ Right to gain livelihood in any province ‑‑ Provincial legislation providing that no person can practise as a public accountant in province unless that person is a member of provincial institute of chartered accountants ‑‑ Whether legislation infringes s. 6(2)(b) of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‑‑ Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).

Constitutional law ‑‑ Charter of Rights ‑‑ Life, liberty and security of the person ‑‑ Provincial legislation providing that no person can practise as a public accountant in province unless that person is a member of provincial institute of chartered accountants ‑‑ Whether legislation infringes s. 7 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‑‑ Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).

Statutes and Regulations Cited

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 2(b), 6, 7.

Public Accounting and Auditing Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P‑28, s. 14(1).

APPEAL from a judgment of the Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, Appeal Division (1993), 1993 CanLII 1816 (PE SCAD), 111 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 150, 348 A.P.R. 150, 107 D.L.R. (4th) 69, setting aside a judgment of Campbell J. (1992), 1992 CanLII 14069 (PE SCTD), 101 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 303, 321 A.P.R. 303, declaring s. 14(1) of the Public Accounting and Auditing Act of Prince Edward Island unconstitutional. Appeal dismissed.

Mary Eberts, Wendy M. Matheson and John Hennessey, for the appellants.

Roger B. Langille, Q.C., and Charles P. Thompson, for the respondent.

Dominique A. Jobin and Kathleen McNicoll, for the intervener the Attorney General of Quebec.

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

Written submissions only by Deborah K. Lovett, for the intervener the Attorney General of British Columbia.

Graeme G. Mitchell, for the intervener the Attorney General for Saskatchewan.

Maurice C. Cullity, Q.C., and Christina H. Medland, for the intervener the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario.

Marcel Rivest, for the intervener the Ordre des comptables généraux licenciés du Québec.

W. Ian C. Binnie, Q.C., and Robert D. Peck, for the intervener the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Prince Edward Island.

Written submissions only by Vince Calderhead, for the intervener the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues.

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by