History of the Supreme Court of Canada
During the Confederation conferences leading to the formation of the Dominion of Canada prior to 1867, it was contemplated that a national court of appeal would be created to sit at the top of the Canadian legal hierarchy, especially to deal with disputes between the provinces and Parliament.
[1]When the British North America Act, 1867 was finalized, it provided Parliament with the permissive power ("may") rather than the imperative ("shall") to create a general court of appeal:[1] 101.
During the federal election of 1874, the Liberals led by Alexander Mackenzie listed the creation of a central court of appeal as part of their campaign platform.
[7] The selection of the initial members of the Court reflected a desire to establish legitimacy to the public and achieve regional representation across Canada.
The Supreme Court Act, 1875 also allocated two of the six positions to Quebec in recognition of the unique civil law system employed by the province.
[2] To recognize the growing importance of Ontario in the Confederation and to compensate for its acceptance of the same number of seats as Quebec in the newly formed Court, there was pressure to appoint an Ontarian as the Chief Justice.
The Senate asked the Court if a bill entitled "An Act to incorporate the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Canada" was within the authority of the federal government to enact.
Chief Justice Richards abstained, expressing doubts as to whether the Court had jurisdiction to hear references of private members' bills.
Permanent accommodations were not provided until 1882, when they moved into a refurbished building on the southwest corner of the West Block of Parliament Hill (facing Bank Street).
[2][9] The building was originally designed by Thomas Seaton Scott, Chief Dominion Architect, and was constructed in 1873 as workshops and stables for the government.
However, complaints were lodged against the building by its occupants, listing problems such as a pervasive "dreadful smell", poor ventilation, small space, lack of offices, and distance to the parliamentary library.
[2] In 1890, a new wing extending North of the building was constructed providing a basement, two additional storeys, and an attic, which nearly doubled the size of the courthouse facilities.
In the early days all cases could be appealed from the Supreme Court of Canada to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
The decisions of the Supreme Court on the interpretation of the Constitution tended to support the popular view that it was intended to create a powerful central government.
In R v Sault Ste-Marie (City of) [1978] 2 SCR 1299, the court established the standard for strict liability offences in the criminal law.
This case was later followed up with the decision of R v Morgentaler, which proved significant both because it struck down the criminalization of abortion but also because of its expansion of due process rights into the civil context.
The Dickson Court era also saw the beginning of a major shift in Canadian administrative law, with the "pragmatic and functional approach" appearing in Union des Employes de Service, Local 298 v Bibeault.
The last years of the Dickson Court saw an entire revision of the area of conflict of laws by Justice Gérard La Forest in the decisions of Morguard Investments Ltd v De Savoye [1990] 3 SCR 1077.
