Constitutional Theory
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Friends Like These
In my comment on the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Criminal Code’s provisions on prostitution, Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, I expressed concern about the Court’s reliance on “legislative facts” ― that is, the social context in which the impugned legislation operates ― to resolve the case, and especially its holding that a trial judge’s… Continue reading
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Le PQ et le Tea Party
Le mois dernier, Martin Patriquin avait fait grand bruit avec une chronique publiée dans le New York Times, où il affirmait qu’avec son projet de Charte de la honte, « en courtisant cet électorat blanc, populiste, rural, le Parti québécois, un parti de gauche, semble s’être aventuré sur en territoire du Tea Party » (ma… Continue reading
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Off Course
In my post on Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down the prostitution-related provisions of the Criminal Code, I said I would have some thoughts on what this decision means for the future of Charter-based judicial review in Canada. As Churchill said, it is a dangerous thing to make predictions, especially… Continue reading
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Defying Shame
A number of institutions in Québec, notably Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital and the English Montreal School Board, have announced their intention to defy the Charter of Shame prohibiting their employees from displaying “conspicuous” religious symbols ― if, that is, the Charter is ever enacted. In other words, these institutions are threatening to engage in civil… Continue reading
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Living Next to You
Despite living so close, and despite our constitution (not only the main documents, but also the Supreme Court’s constitutional jurisprudence) being substantially influenced (including a negative influence ― attempts not to repeat perceived mistakes) by the American experience, Canadians tend not to know, or not to understand, American constitutional law and theory as well as… Continue reading
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Storm and Havoc
Time for more shameless self-promotion, after my rant on Thursday about not being cited by the Québec Court of Appeal. A paper of mine, called “Storm and Havoc: The Rule of Law and Religious Exemptions,” is coming out any time now in the Revue Juridique Thémis de l’Université de Montréal, a mere three years after… Continue reading
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Constitutional Conventions and Senate Reform
Fabien Gélinas and I have written a paper on the (under-appreciated yet crucial) role of constitutional conventions for assessing the constitutionality of the federal government’s plans for reforming the Senate, which are the subject of references now being considered both by the Supreme Court and by the Québec Court of Appeal. (The factums for the… Continue reading
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A Little Knowledge
Twitter and the blogosphere (ok, the parts of Twitter and the blogosphere that I frequent) are pretty excited about the Constitute Project, which sets out to “offer[] access to the world’s constitutions that users can systematically compare them across a broad set of topics.” Google, which has provided money and support for the project, proclaims that… Continue reading
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Difference in Deference
After the sad distraction of the repressive “Québec Values Charter” on which I spent the last week, it is time to return to my more customary business of constitutional law and theory. It will no doubt be very bad for the blog’s traffic, but very good for my mood. There is a good occasion for… Continue reading
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Real Intellectual Life
I have recently come across a great paper by Mark D. Walters, “Dicey on Writing the Law of the Constitution”, (2012) 32 OJLS 21. (UPDATE: The original link is no longer working, alas, and the paper is no longer freely accessible.) It’s not brand new (it was published last year), but as prof. Walters, unfortunately,… Continue reading
