Case information

Municipal law — By laws — Management of distribution of printed advertising matter — Charter of Rights — Freedom of expression — If city wants to regulate activity engaged in by company over which it has no jurisdiction, whether city must consider practical effects that its by law will have on other companies subject thereto — Under minimal impairment test, burden that must be imposed on city as to demonstrating absence of less intrusive means to achieve its objective — How justification regarding presumption of refusal to receive communication covered by constitutional guarantee should be examined — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 1 and 2(b).

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

In August 2019, the respondent, Ville de Mirabel (“City”), adopted by law 2326, which replaced the presumption of consent to the distribution of printed advertising matter on private property (a so called “opt-out” regime) set out in by law 1225 with a presumption of refusal to receive any, unless the citizen provides consent expressly by prominently affixing a pictogram that authorizes the distribution of such printed matter (a so called “opt-in” regime).

The applicant, Médias Transcontinental S.E.N.C. (“MTC”), is the owner of Publisac, which puts together and distributes printed advertising matter and local newspapers throughout Quebec, including in the City. MTC applied for judicial review of by law 2326. It maintained that by law 2326 is illegal because the process by which it was adopted was flawed, because of its unreasonableness and because it unjustifiably infringes upon the right to freedom of expression protected by the Canadian and Quebec charters. MTC sought to have by law 2326 declared null and to have the court confirm that it enjoys acquired rights to distribute the Publisac bag according to the “opt-out” method.

The Quebec Superior Court dismissed MTC’s application for judicial review and the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.