Chief Justice Laskin, writing for the majority of the Court, held that all television, even where exclusively produced and distributed within the province, fell within the definition of a federal undertaking under section 92(10)(a) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Capital Cities Communications at the time owned WKBW-TV, a station based in Buffalo, New York that had a strong following in the province of Ontario.

The then-owners of fellow Buffalo stations WGR-TV and WBEN-TV joined Capital Cities in the suit.

The issue before the Court was whether the federal government had legislative jurisdiction over the content of cable television.

This decision was released along with the accompanying case Dionne v. Quebec (Public Service Board) [1978] 2 S.C.R.