In 1995, the Parliament of Canada passed the Firearms Act, which required owners of rifles and shotguns to register them, and to obtain possession licences for them.

The Firearms Act was closely integrated with the federal Criminal Code, so that failures to comply with the requirements of the former could in some cases be prosecuted as offences under the latter.

The unanimous Court held that the pith and substance of the Act was in relation to "public safety" which was a matter within the criminal law power of the federal government.

The Court also noted that firearms have been subject to federal regulation for years and that the government of Alberta could not reasonably challenge many of the earlier laws.

Finally, the Court rejected all arguments that the law was too expensive or disadvantageous to rural regions, as these were matters for Parliament to consider rather than legal issues liable to judicial review.