It was ratified on behalf of the British Empire in 1922, and the Parliament of Canada subsequently passed legislation on the matter.

In a federal-provincial conference in 1927, questions were raised as to whether there really was federal jurisdiction to regulate this field.

The SCC ruling was reversed on appeal, and the Privy Council answered "Yes" with respect to all three questions.

The relevant clauses in the British North America, 1867 that were held to cover the entire field of aeronautics were: The Privy Council also observed that the real object of the British North America Act, 1867 was to "give the central Government those high functions and almost sovereign powers to which uniformity of legislation might be secured on all questions which were of common concern to all the Provinces as members of a constituent whole."

The division of responsibilities between federal and provincial jurisdictions was summarized as follows by Lord Sankey: Although the underlying Convention was denounced and replaced by a new international convention in 1944 that was not a treaty of the British Empire, it was held in Johannesson v West St. Paul that, in accordance with Ontario v Canada Temperance Federation, the field continued to be within federal jurisdiction under the power relating to peace, order and good government, as by then it had attained a national dimension.