The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, SC 2019, c 24 (the "Act") is constitutionally valid.
The Province of Quebec had referred the following constitutional question to the Quebec Court of Appeal:
[Translation] Is the Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families ultra vires the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada under the Constitution of Canada?
The Quebec Court of Appeal held the Act to be constitutionally valid save for Sections 21 and 22(3), which provide for the paramountcy of Indigenous child and family services laws over conflicting or inconsistent provincial laws.
On appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that the Act as a whole is constitutionally valid, as it falls within Parliament's legislative jurisdiction under Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867.
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