Mercier, et al. v. Correctional Service of Canada, et al.
The Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada published a new directive banning both indoor and outdoor smoking in federal prisons, with only a religious exception. Prisoners challenged the constitutionality and validity of the directive. The Court held that the directive went too far because the blanket ban is not the least restrictive means to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke.
Mercier, et al. v. Correctional Service of Canada, et al., 2009 FC 1071, Federal Court (2009).
Tobacco companies or front groups may challenge any legislative or regulatory measure that affects their business interests. Unlike public interest litigation, these cases seek to weaken health measures. These cases frequently involve the industry proceeding against the government. For example, a group of restaurant owners challenging a smoke free law as unconstitutional.
Regulatory measures consisting of political actions designed to punish the tobacco industry or tobacco users. The industry may argue such arbitrary and capricious regulations will fail to achieve the stated objective. They may also argue that the measures are too extreme, prohibitively expensive, and violate the principle of proportionality.
Subsequent regulations exceed the scope of the originating law.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
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"Measures necessary to protect non-smokers from exposure to second-hand smoke in penitentiaries should be the least restrictive possible. In this case, considering the stated purpose of the correctional system and its guiding principles set out in sections 3 and 4 of the Act, the evidence in the record does not allow the Court to conclude that the outdoor smoking ban is a preventive measure that can be justified in an objective and rational way by the Commissioner and correctional authorities, who have full authority under the Act and the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, SOR/92-620, to enforce the indoor smoking ban in federal buildings under their authority."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
The Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada published a new directive banning both indoor and outdoor smoking in federal prisons, with only a religious exception. Prisoners challenged the constitutionality and validity of the directive. The Court held that the directive went too far because the blanket ban is not the least restrictive means to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke.