R v Drybones, [1970] S.C.R. 282, is a landmark 6-3 Supreme Court of Canada decision holding that the Canadian Bill of Rights "empowered the courts to strike down federal legislation which offended its dictates." Accordingly, the Supreme Court of Canada held that section 94(b) of the Indian Act (which prohibited "Indians" from being intoxicated off of a reserve) is inoperative because it violates section 1(b) of the Canadian Bill of Rights.

Prior to this decision there had been much debate on the application of the Bill of Rights to an infringing statute. One perspective saw the Bill of Rights as an interpretive aid. The other perspective saw it as statute that constrained the supremacy of Parliament, rendering irreconcilable federal enactments of no force or effect. After this case, the overriding power that the Court held flows from the Canadian Bill of Rights was never used, and has since never been reconsidered by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Although the judgement only rendered section 94b inoperable, as a consequence of the case, Parliament voted to repeal section 94 in its entirety in 1971.

94. An Indian who

On April 8, 1967, shortly after 11:00pm, Joseph Drybones was discovered intoxicated on the floor of the lobby of the Old Stope Hotel in Yellowknife. On April 10, 1967, Drybones, representing himself without counsel, pleaded guilty to being an Indian who was intoxicated off a reserve, in contravention of section 94(b) of the Indian Act. Drybones was convicted of this offence by Justice of the Peace Thompson and was sentenced to pay a fine of $10 or three days imprisonment. On April 27, 1967, Drybones gave notice that he was appealing the conviction.

In a motion before the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories, counsel for Drybones argued that since their client did not understand English, he did not understand the nature of the proceedings, rendering his guilty plea invalid and subject to withdrawal. The motion was granted and the guilty plea was revoked by Drybones, the Court ordering a trial de novo.

In the trial de novo, the crown called six witnesses, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constables and the wife of the hotel manager who had found Drybones. The crown also produced Joe Sangris as one of their witnesses, a former chief and leader of the Indian village at Yellowknife for 16 years. Sangris testified that he had known Drybones from his birth, as well as his wife and his father, towards the Crown's attempt to formally prove that Drybones was legally considered an Indian. Sangris also testified that Drybones received treaty money once a year. A similar crown witness was David George Greyeyes, once the regional director of Indian affairs. Greyeyes was the officer charged with the maintenance of Indian records, contractual obligations and the execution of federal treaties involving Indians. Greyeyes produced official records of Drybones, married to Madeline Crapeau with no children. Both Greyeyes and Sangris also testified that there were no Indian reserves in the Northwest Territories.

Counsel for Drybones argued that the Crown failed to prove that Drybones was an Indian within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the Indian Act, which requires that an officially-designated Indian be a member of an Indian band; therefore, Drybones could not be convicted under sections 94(b) of the Indian Act. It was also argued that since there are no reserves in the Northwest Territories, Section 94(b) of the Indian Act is inapplicable to such cases in the Northwest Territories.