The applicants are three Chiefs and three self governing organizations representing off-reserve Aboriginal peoples, the Native Council of Nova Scotia, the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council and the Native Council of Prince Edward Island. The applicants seek a declaration that the decisions of Governor in Council and the Minister of Industry regarding the 2011 Census and National Household Survey are unconstitutional in that they infringe equality rights of Aboriginal people.
The Federal Court found that the 2011 Census and National Household Survey did not infringe the equality rights (s. 15 of the Canadian Charter) of off-reserve Aboriginal people because no distinction was made based on aboriginality or non-residence on reserve. The Court found that in order for s. 15 to invalidate a law, the law itself must be discriminatory; a discriminatory effect is not sufficient.