The Plaintiffs in this action challenge decisions taken by the Board of Directors of the Defendants, The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) and British Columbia Transit (BC Transit), which caused the Defendants not to accept certain advertisements (the “Ads”) which the Plaintiffs sought to have displayed on the outside of buses owned and operated by the Defendants. The Plaintiffs also challenge certain portions of the advertising policies approved by the Board of Directors of TransLink and BC Transit. In both cases, the Plaintiffs’ challenge is based on the allegation that the decisions of the Defendants place an unjustified limitation on expression by the Defendants in violation of section 2(b) of the Charter.

Both Defendants admit that they refused to permit the Ads, but each says that it is not a government to which the Charter applies, there was no infringement of section 2(b) of the Charter, in any event, and, if there was, it was justifiable under section 1 of the Charter.