Saumur v. The City of Quebec

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saumur v. The City of Quebec

Hearing: December 9-12, 15-17, 1952
Judgment: October 6, 1953


Full case name:	Laurier Saumur v. The City of Quebec
Citations:	[1953] 2 S.C.R. 299
Ruling:	Saumur appeal allowed

Court membership

Reasons given

Majority by: Kerwin J.
Concurrence by: Rand J.
Concurrence by: Kellock J.
Concurrence by: Estey J.
Concurrence by: Locke J.
Dissent by: Rinfret C.J.
Joined by: Taschereau J.
Dissent by: Cartwright J.
Joined by: Fauteux J.

Saumur v. The City of Quebec [1953] 2 S.C.R. 299 is a famous constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which struck down a municipal by-law prohibiting the distribution of literature to the public.

A group of Jehovah's Witnesses, along with Saumur, challenged a Quebec City municipal by-law that prohibited the distribution of literature in the street without the proper authorization of the city's Chief of Police on the basis that it was outside of the municipality's jursdiction and that it had the effect of religious and political censorship.

In a 5 to 4 decision, the Court held that the subject matter of the law was in relation to "speech" or "religion" which was both in the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government to legislate on. The majority noted that the law had the effect that the chief of police would act in the role of a censor, deciding whether the literature was objectionable. The result, they observed, would be that unpopular groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses would be censored.

The dissent focused on the purpose of the law, observing that it was intended to protect the public and keep the streets clean. They found no basis for Saumur's claim that it prevented the Jehovah's Witnesses from their religious practice.

This decision was part of a series of cases the Supreme Court dealt with concerning the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses under the Duplessis government of Quebec. Previous to this there was the case of R. v. Boucher [1951] S.C.R. 265 that upheld the right to distribute pamphlets. Subsequent to Saumur was the case of Roncarelli v. Duplessis [1959] S.C.R. 121 which punished Duplessis for revoking a Jehovah's Witness liquor license.