Nova Scotia Board of Censors V. Mc Neil - Reasons of The Court

Reasons of The Court

Ritchie J., writing for the majority found that the pith and substance of the Act concerned the "regulation, supervision and control" of film, a form of private property, in the province. Consequently, the law was strictly a matter of Property and Civil Rights, a matter that was in the exclusive jurisdiction of the province. Further, Ritchie applied the definition of Criminal law from the Margarine Reference case which required that a criminal law must concern the public interest and must consist of a prohibition with a penalty. Ritchie found that there was no clear prohibition because the law did not provide details on what was prohibited, rather, it left it to the discretion of the board.