The respondent was charged under s. 116(1) of the Criminal Code for disobeying a civil court order.
The lower courts quashed the charge, holding that the superior court's inherent power to punish for contempt was a 'mode of proceeding expressly provided by law', which precluded the application of s. 116(1).
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the Crown's appeal, holding that 'expressly provided by law' refers to statute law, not the common law inherent power of contempt.
Therefore, a charge under s. 116(1) is available to enforce a lawful court order where no statutory provision expressly provides a penalty.
