No to absolute government Immunity (Canada v Joseph Power)

The issue in Power was a narrow one: whether the Crown enjoys absolute immunity from a civil suit seeking Charter damages for the enactment of legislation declared unconstitutional. The government argued that it has absolute immunity, and Power, who claims to have suffered damages flowing from unconstitutional legislation, said otherwise. The lower court applied a rule from an older Supreme Court of Canada case called Mackin v New Brunswick to conclude that Crown immunity is not absolute. The AG appealed that lower court decision and the CCF was granted leave to intervene in that appeal.

The CCF did not taking a position on the merits of the case, but rather, focused on the issue of whether or not the Crown is entitled to absolute immunity.

VICTORY: On July 19, the CCF was pleased that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the state is not entitled to absolute immunity from damages when it enacts unconstitutional legislation that infringes Charter rights.

For more on this decision and the CCF’s own position, see the CCF’s Joanna Baron and Christine Van Geyn’s article in the Hub here.