Telecommunications and the Constitution : Re-setting the Bounds of Federal Authority

Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada have some potentially important implications for the federal-provincial division of powers over telecommunications. Consolidated Fastfrate Inc. v. Western Canada Council of Teamsters, which established that freight-forwarders are not s. 92(10)(a) undertakings, raises a new question about which level of government has constitutional authority over non-facilities-based telecommunications service providers. At the same time, the line of cases beginning with Canadian Western Bank v. Alberta, which restricted the scope of the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity, means that telecommunications service providers subject to federal jurisdiction are potentially subject to provincial laws in a broader range of circumstances. This article explores how recent case law is redefining the scope of federal authority over telecommunications