Mark Mancini
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The New Administrative Law
Part I of a two-part series: why we need to reconceptualize the administrative state and our reasons for deference. Continue reading
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Abellian “Law”
It is with an utter lack of surprise that I yet again fill the virtual pages of Double Aspect with thoughts on another of Justice Abella’s comments on the nature of judging. Both Leonid and I have continuously written about how Justice Abella frequently displays a judicial arrogance that is inconsistent with the role of… Continue reading
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The “Return” of “Textualism” at the SCC[?]
Under the so-called “modern approach” to statutory interpretation, courts are instructed to take into account the text, context, and purpose of a statute. But perhaps because the “text, context, and purpose” recital is so commonplace, other difficult interpretive questions are masked under its patina. For example, which takes priority—text or purpose? The Supreme Court has… Continue reading
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Can an agency choose not to enforce Bill 21?
Last week, the English Montreal School Board [EMSB] announced that it is refusing to to implement Bill 21, introduced by the Quebec government. The law would ban workers in the public sphere in positions of authority from wearing “religious symbols” while at work. The government, apparently cognizant of the challenges this could raise under the… Continue reading
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Lessening Us: The Supreme Court and SNC-Lavalin
The SNC-Lavalin episode gets worse, if that is possible. Continue reading
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The Empty Canard of the Living Tree “Doctrine”
In 1989, Justice Scalia gave a speech entitled “Assorted Canards of Contemporary Legal Analysis.” These “canards,” are “certain oft-repeated statements…” that, while having “little actual impact upon the decision of the case” are “part of its atmospherics, or of its overarching philosophy…” Justice Scalia gave the example of the old adage that “remedial statutes should… Continue reading
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Our Pythic Judges: SNC-Lavalin
In Ancient Greece, travelers from far and wide descended upon the Oracle at Delphi. Known collectively as the Pythia, these priestesses or women of Delphi, over generations, provided advice and counsel to anyone wishing to seek it. The Pythia were thought to channel the god Apollo. As the mythology of the Pythia grew, with kings… Continue reading
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Our Government
Some implications from Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony Continue reading
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Justice Beetz’s Unity of Public Law
What an old SCC case tells us about the unity of public law Continue reading
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The Statement of Principles
Thus far, I have stayed out of the controversy surrounding the Statement of Principles [SOP] because I have nothing new to add. Leonid has, in a series of posts, outlined the in-principle objections to the SOP, while others have suggested that the SOP is a modest, necessary remedy for a difficult problem. But as the… Continue reading
Double Aspect 