Reference re Residential Tenancies Act, [1981] 1 S.C.R. 714 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 decision on the jurisdiction of superior court

Superior court

In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...

s provided by section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867

Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...

. The Court formulated a three step test for determining whether an administrative body was encroaching upon the jurisdiction of the superior courts.

Test Formulated by Court

Justice Dickson, writing for the majority, suggested the test.

1. Firstly, it must be determined "whether the power or jurisdiction conforms to the power or jurisdiction exercised by superior, district or county courts at the time of Confederation."
2. Secondly, the test asks "whether the function itself is different when viewed in that setting. In particular, can the function still be considered to be a 'judicial' function."
3. Thirdly, the test asks the court to "review the tribunal's function as a whole in order to appraise the impugned function in its entire institutional context."

In this case, it was determined that Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act was not valid provincial legislation.

Subsequent case law

The test was later applied in Massey-Ferguson Industries v. Govt. of Sask., [1981] 2 S.C.R. 413, and eventually modified in Sobeys Stores v. Yeomans, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 238.