2010 SCC 61 (Released 22 December 2010)
Constitutional Law – Division of Powers –
Federal Jurisdiction Over Criminal Law – Provincial
Jurisdiction over Property and Civil Rights
On December 22, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a
divided 4-4-1 decision in Reference re Assisted Human
Reproduction Act. At issue was whether the impugned
provisions, sections 8 to 19, 40 to 53, 60, 61 and 68 of the
Assisted Human Reproduction Act, S.C. 2004, c.2, exceeded
Parliament's authority to enact criminal law under s. 91(27) of
the Constitution Act, 1867. The impetus for the
legislation in question was the 1989 Royal Commission on New
Reproductive Technologies (the "Baird Commission"), a
report which made recommendations for federal legislation to
address the concerns about certain practices in the field of
assisted human reproduction. While conceding that the legislation
contained certain provisions that were valid criminal law, the
Attorney General of Quebec
