Radio Reference
| Radio Reference | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Court | Judicial Committee of the Privy Council |
| Full case name | The Attorney General of Quebec v The Attorney General of Canada and others |
| Decided | 9 February 1932 |
| Citation(s) | [1932] UKPC 7, [1932] AC 304 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Reference re Regulation and Control of Radio Communication 1931 CanLII 83, [1931] SCR 541 (30 June 1931) |
| Appealed from | Supreme Court of Canada |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Viscount Dunedin, Lord Blanesburgh, Lord Merrivale, Lord Russell of Killowen, Sir George Lowndes |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Viscount Dunedin |
| Keywords | |
| Broadcasting | |
Quebec (AG) v Canada (AG), also known as the Radio Reference, is a decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that determined that broadcasting fell within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada under the British North America Act, 1867.
When the British North America Act, 1867 was originally drafted, broadcasting had not yet been invented. By the 1920s, Canada had already entered into international agreements on the subject, and there was intense debate as to which level of government in Canada had jurisdiction to regulate this field. Quebec decided to pose reference questions to its appellate court on the matter, and the federal government decided to preempt that hearing by posing the following questions to the Supreme Court of Canada:
In a 3-2 decision, the SCC held that radio communication is subject to the legislative jurisdiction of the Dominion Parliament. In his opinion, Anglin C.J.C. supported the statement by Newcombe J. that:
I interpret the reference as meant to submit the questions for consideration in the light of the existing situation and the knowledge and use of the art, as practically understood and worked, and, having regard to what is stated in the case, assumed as the basis for the hearing. Therefore I proceed upon the assumption that radio communication in Canada is practically Dominion-wide; that the broadcasting of a message in a province, or in a territory of Canada, has its effect in making the message receivable as such, and is also effective by way of interference, not only within the local political area within which the transmission originates, but beyond, for distances exceeding the limits of a province, and that, consequently, if there is to be harmony or reasonable measure of utility or success in the service, it is desirable, if not essential, that the operations should be subject to prudent regulation and control.
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