What is the test for a com-mission of inquiry?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from British Columbia (Securities Commission) v. Stallwood, 1995 CanLII 1515 (BC SC):

42 And further at page 665 quoting from O'Hara v. British Columbia (1987), 1987 CanLII 45 (SCC), 38 C.C.C. (3d) 233 (S.C.C.) Lamer J. said: A matter may well fall within the legitimate concern of a provincial legislature as pertaining to the administration of justice, and may, for another purpose, fall within the scope of federal jurisdiction over criminal law and procedure.... Such is the case in the present appeal.... A province has valid and legitimate constitutional interest in determining the nature, source, and reasons for inappropriate and possibly criminal activities engaged in by members of police forces under its jurisdiction. At stake is the management of the means by which justice is administered in the province. That such activity may later form the basis of a criminal charge and thus engage federal interests in criminal law and criminal procedure, does not, in my view, undermine this basic principle....the present inquiry is aimed at getting to the bottom of an incident of police misconduct which has undermined the proper administration of justice. The federal authorities have no jurisdiction over the discipline of the police officers who are the subject of the inquiry.... The inquiry is mandated to investigate alleged acts of wrongdoing for purposes different than those which underlie criminal law and criminal procedure. The purpose of the inquiry is not to determine criminal responsibility. As such, it is no different from a coroner's inquiry, the constitutionality of which was affirmed by the court in Faber, supra. In my view, this passage from the judgment of the Chief Justice reconciles to a large extent the cases that have gone before in this area, while adhering to well-established principles of adjudication in the context of division of powers. The comments of the Chief Justice recognize that there may be a "double aspect" to a com-mission of inquiry. There will be cases, however, where the court is able to identify a predominant feature that outweighs the competing, incidental aspect. [emphasis added]

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