One of Beetz's most significant decisions was his dissenting opinion in Reference re Anti-Inflation Act. The case concerned a federal statute which implemented wage and price controls during a time of high inflation. The issue was whether the federal Parliament had the authority to pass the Act, under the emergency branch of the federal peace, order and good government power. Beetz wrote a lengthy decision outlining the doctrinal basis for the emergency branch, and concluded that the Act did not meet the necessary strict test for federal legislation under this power. The other justices of the Court disagreed with his conclusion, and upheld the constitutional validity of the federal Act. However, they agreed with his interpretation of the emergency branch. As a result, Beetz's outline of the emergency branch is now the standard analysis. James MacPherson has stated that Beetz's opinion is "... the single best written judgment in a distribution of powers case in the history of Canadian constitutional law."