The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Parliament of Canada has the power to establish a Court of Appeal with exclusive and ultimate appellate jurisdiction within and for Canada, including the authority to abolish appeals to His Majesty in Council.

Lord Chancellor:-

This appeal is brought from the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada given on 19-1-1940 upon a question which was referred to that Court under the provisions of S. 55, Supreme Court Act, R. S. C. 1927, chap. 35.

[2] From the recitals contained in the Order of Reference which was made by the Governor-General in Council on 21-4-1939, it appears that, at the 4th Session of the Eighteenth Parliament of Canada, Bill 9, entitled "AnActtoamendtheSupremeCourtAct" was introduced and received first reading in the House of Commons on 23-1-1939 and that on April 14th of the same year the debate on the motion for the second reading of the Bill was adjourned in order that steps might be taken to obtain a judicial determination of the legislative competence of the Parliament in Canada to enact the provisions of the said Bill in whole or in part.

[3] The following question was accordingly referred to the Supreme Court of Canada for hearing and consideration :

" Is said Bill 9 entitled 'An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act' or any of the provisions thereof and in what particular or particulars or to what extent intra vires of the Parliament of Canada? "

[4] The contents of the Bill, a short but pregnant one, must be stated in full. They are as follows :

" 1. Section fifty-four of the Supreme Court Act, chapter thirty-five of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, is repealed and the following substituted therefor:

"54. (1) The Supreme Court shall have, hold and exercise exclusive ultimate appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction within and for Canada; and the judgment of the Court shall, in all cases, be final and conclusive.

" (2) Notwithstanding any royal prerogative or anything contained in any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or any Act of the Parliament of Canada or any Act of the legislature of any province of Canada or any other statute or law, no appeal shall lie or be brought from any Court now or hereafter established within Canada to any Court of appeal, tribunal or authority by which, in the United Kingdom, appeals or petitions to His Majesty in Council may be ordered to be heard.

" (3) The Judicial Committee Act, 1833, chapter forty-one of the statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1833, and The Judicial Committee Act, 1844, chapter sixty-nine of the statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1844, and all orders, rules or regulations made under the said Acts are hereby repealed in so far as the same are part of the law of Canada."

2. Nothing in this Act shall affect any application for special leave to appeal or any appeal to His Majesty in Council made or pending at the date of the coming into force of this Act.

3. "This Act shall come into force upon a date to be fixed by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Canada Gazette."

[5] On 19-1-1940 the Supreme Court certified that the opinions in respect of the question referred to it were as follows :

" By the Court : the Parliament of Canada is competent to enact the Bill referred in its entirety; By Mr. Justice Crocket : the Bill referred is wholly ultra vires, of the Parliament of Canada; By Mr. Justice Davis : The Bill referred if enacted would be within the authority of the Dominion Parliament if amended to provide that nothing therein contained shall alter or affect the rights of any Province in respect of any action or other civil proceedings commenced in any of the Provincial Courts and solely concerned with some subject matter legislation in relation to which is within the exclusive legislative competence of the legislature of such Province."

[6] From this judgment of the Court the Attorneys-General of Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick have by special leave brought this appeal which the Attorney-General of Quebec has intervened to support. The Attorneys-General of Canada and of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are respondents to the appeal. The hearing of the appeal was postponed until the conc