Little Sisters' bookstore defeated.

Vancouver -- In a rare setback for I homosexual activists, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a 7-2 decision, has ruled that a gay and lesbian "bookstore" carrying pornographic materials will not be entitled to a requested $2 million in public funding for a lawsuit it intended to launch against the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. The Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium in Vancouver wanted to challenge what it felt was the arbitrary way the CCRA assessed whether some of the materials the store was importing were obscene or not.

Writing for the majority, Justices Michel Bastarache and Louis LeBel upheld an earlier British Columbia Court of Appeals ruling. The judges said the case did not meet the criteria required for a cash advance, because the issues involved did not go beyond the interests of the litigant to encompass those of the public at large. The store's lawyer said afterward that their legal offensive was finished unless a beneficiary emerged to donate a large amount of money.

The Globe and Mails justice reporter noted that, following the elimination of the federal Court Challenges Program by the Conservative government, this ruling strikes an added blow to like-minded other groups hoping to use the Courts to challenge laws and decisions by government bodies. These groups had been buoyed by a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that created the notion of public funding of advance costs. But in the most recent decision, Justices Bastarache and LeBel said the standard required for such funding is a high one and it can be awarded only in rare and exceptional circumstances.