Quebec (Attorney General) v. Canadian Owners and Pilots Association
| Quebec (AG) v Canadian Owners and Pilots Assn | |
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| Hearing: October 14, 2009 Judgment: October 15, 2010 |
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| Full case name | Attorney General of Quebec v Canadian Owners and Pilots Association |
| Citations | 2010 SCC 39 (CanLII), [2010] 2 SCR 536 |
| Docket No. | 32604 |
| Prior history | Appealed from Laferrière c. Québec (Procureur général), 2008 QCCA 427 (CanLII), 48 M.P.L.R. (4th) 26, [2008] Q.J. No. 1597 (QL), 2008 CarswellQue 14277, reversing a decision of the Superior Court, Laferrière c. Lortie 2006 QCCS 3377 (CanLII), [2006] J.Q. no 5998 (QL), 2006 CarswellQue 5622, upholding a decision of the Court of Québec, Laferrière c. Québec (Commission de protection du territoire agricole) 2002 CanLII 41590 (QC CQ), [2002] J.Q. no 4771 (QL). |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Beverley McLachlin Puisne Justices: Ian Binnie, Louis LeBel, Marie Deschamps, Morris Fish, Rosalie Abella, Louise Charron, Marshall Rothstein, Thomas Cromwell |
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| Reasons given | |
| Majority | McLachlin C.J. |
| Dissent | Deschamps J., joined by LeBel J. |
Quebec (AG) v Canadian Owners and Pilots Assn, 2010 SCC 39, [2010] 2 SCR 536, also referred to as Quebec v. COPA, is a leading case of the Supreme Court of Canada on determining the applicability of the doctrines of interjurisdictional immunity and federal paramountcy in Canadian constitutional law.
An aerodrome, registered under the federal Aeronautics Act, was constructed on land zoned as agricultural in the province of Quebec. Section 26 of the Quebec Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities (“ARPALAA”) prohibited the use of lots in a designated agricultural region for any purpose other than agriculture, subject to prior authorization by the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec.
Since the Commission’s permission was not obtained prior to constructing the aerodrome, the Commission ordered the return of the land to its original state pursuant to the ARPALAA. The Commission’s decision was challenged on the ground that aeronautics is within federal jurisdiction.
The Administrative Tribunal of Quebec, the Court of Quebec and the Superior Court of Quebec all upheld the Commission's decision, but the Quebec Court of Appeal found that interjurisdictional immunity precluded the Commission from ordering the dismantling of the aerodrome.
The appeal was dismissed. Interjurisdictional immunity was held to apply in the matter, under a two-part test that was stated by McLachlin CJ:
[27] The first step is to determine whether the provincial law ... trenches on the protected “core” of a federal competence. If it does, the second step is to determine whether the provincial law’s effect on the exercise of the protected federal power is sufficiently serious to invoke the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity.
While ARPALAA is valid provincial legislation, it is inapplicable to the extent that it impacts the federal power over aeronautics. The federal aeronautics jurisdiction encompasses not only the regulation of the operation of aircraft and airports, but also the power to determine the location of airports and aerodromes. This power is an essential and indivisible part of aeronautics and, as such, lies within the protected core of the federal aeronautics power.
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