Constitutional law

September 28, 2021

Disinformation and Dystopia

Whose disinformation efforts should we really fear―and why we should also fear regulation to stop disinformation Continue reading

Law of Democracy

advertising, Canada, disinformation, freedom of expression, politics, social media
July 23, 2021

The Core of It: Quebec Reference and Section 96

At the end of June, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in the Court of Quebec case (what I call, unoriginally, the Quebec Reference). The main question in the case: does art. 35 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which grants the Court of Quebec exclusive jurisdiction over all civil disputes up to… Continue reading

Administrative Law, Constitutional law

courts, Rule of Law
July 22, 2021

The UK Way

What a recent decision of the UK Supreme Court can teach us about courts, legislatures, and rights Continue reading

Constitutional law

legislative history, notwithstanding clause, parliamentary privilege, politics, rights, statutory interpretation, United Kingdom
July 5, 2021

Common Power Grabs

A defence of Ontario’s use of the notwithstanding clause as “common good constitutionalism” is the same old tripe, under a new sauce Continue reading

Constitutional law, Law of Democracy

Charter, common good constitutionalism, election law, notwithstanding clause, third parties
June 24, 2021

Bill C-10 and the CRTC Debacle

Does it get much worse? Continue reading

Administrative Law, Constitutional law, Constitutional Theory

Administrative Law, Bill C-10, CRTC, delegation
June 15, 2021

The Politics of Law

Is law truly just a function of politics? Should it be? Continue reading

Administrative Law, Constitutional law, statutory interpretation

law, politics, Rule of Law, statutory interpretation
April 19, 2021

Ontario’s COVID-19 Discretion Tragedy

Ontarians watched with a mix of horror and confusion on Friday as Premier Ford and medical officials announced what could only be described as drastic measures to, apparently, curb the spread of COVID-19 and its related variants. While the government has flip flopped on these measures since, and it is unclear if further changes are… Continue reading

Administrative Law, Constitutional law, Constitutional Theory

discretion, police, Rule of Law
March 23, 2021

Interpretation and the Value of Law II

This post is written by Leonid Sirota and Mark Mancini. We read with interest Stéphane Sérafin, Kerry Sun, and Xavier Foccroulle Ménard’s reply to our earlier post on legal interpretation. In a nutshell, we argued that those who interpret legal texts such as constitutions or statutes should apply established legal techniques without regard for the… Continue reading

Constitutional law, statutory interpretation

common good constitutionalism, interpretation, textualism
January 14, 2021

Putting Stare Decisis Together Again

Originalists and living constitutionalists alike have good Rule of Law reasons for being wary of appeals to reinvigorate stare decisis Continue reading

Constitutional law, Legal philosophy

congruence, living constitutionalism, originalism, precedent, Rule of Law, stare decisis
December 3, 2020

Still Wrong, Just a Little Less So

The Québec Court of Appeal errs in thinking the Charter prevents the imposition of, in effect, life imprisonment without parole Continue reading

Constitutional law, Criminal Law/Policy

Charter, cruel and unusual punishment, life without parole, overbreadth, section 12, section 7, sentencing