Roncarelli v. Duplessis
| Roncarelli v Duplessis | |
|---|---|
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| Hearing: June 2–6, 1958 Judgment: January 27, 1959 |
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| Full case name | Frank Roncarelli v The Honourable Maurice Duplessis |
| Citations | [1959] S.C.R. 121 |
| Ruling | Trial judge correct, amount awarded at trial increased by $25,000. |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Patrick Kerwin Puisne Justices: Robert Taschereau, Ivan Rand, Charles Holland Locke, John Robert Cartwright, Gerald Fauteux, Douglas Abbott, Ronald Martland, Wilfred Judson |
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| Reasons given | |
| Majority | Martland J., joined by Locke J. |
| Concurrence | Kerwin C.J. |
| Concurrence | Rand J., joined by Judson J. |
| Concurrence | Abbott J. |
| Dissent | Taschereau J. |
| Dissent | Cartwright J. |
| Dissent | Fauteux J. |
Roncarelli v Duplessis, [1959] S.C.R. 121, was a landmark constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court held that Maurice Duplessis, the premier of Quebec, had overstepped his authority by revoking the liquor licence of a Jehovah's Witness. Justice Rand wrote in his often-quoted reasons that the unwritten constitutional principle of the "rule of law" meant no public official was above the law and so could neither suspend nor dispense it. Although Duplessis had authority under the relevant legislation, his decision was not based on any factors related to the operation of the licence but was made for unrelated reasons and so was held to be exercised arbitrarily and without good faith.
Frank Roncarelli was a restaurant owner in Montreal and a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. He used his wealth to provide bail security for other Witnesses who had been arrested by the municipal government.
At the time, tension and unprovoked violence by the dominant Roman Catholic community against Jehovah's Witnesses saw increasing arrests of members for distributing their magazines without the necessary permits under a city by-law that was later determined to be unconstitutional in Saumur v. The City of Quebec.
Roncarelli furnished bail for 375 of Jehovah's Witnesses in three years, many of whom were arrested multiple times.
The Chief Prosecutor of the city, Oscar Gagnon, overwhelmed by the number of Witnesses being arrested and then set free by Roncarelli's intervention, contacted the Premier who spoke to Édouard Archambault, Chairman of the Quebec Liquour Commission. Roncarelli's licence was subsequently revoked. Extensive testimony showed the government actors believed that Roncarelli was disrupting the court system, causing civil disorder and so was not entitled to the liquor licence.
Roncarelli was told that he was barred from holding a liquor licence and that the action was a warning that others would similarly be stripped of provincial "privileges" if they persisted in their activities related to the Witnesses.
Roncarelli received news of the revocation in December 1946, and while he tried to keep his business open without the licence, it was not profitable, and he put it up for sale within six months. Consequently, he brought an action against Duplessis for $90,000 in damages.
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