Canada
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Nation Tsilhqot’in c. Colombie-Britannique : ce qu’il ne faut pas trop tarder à savoir. Partie 1 : introduction
L’arrêt que, sous la plume de la juge en chef McLachlin, une Cour suprême du Canada unanime a rendu le 26 juin dernier dans l’affaire de la Nation Tsilhqot’in c. Colombie-Britannique représente, dans l’histoire du droit canadien, la première reconnaissance judiciaire, concrète, formelle et définitive de titre autochtone ancestral sur un territoire. La procédure avait été… Continue reading
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Vote On
The CBC reports that Justice Robert Sharpe of the Ontario Court of Appeal denied the federal government’s application for a stay of the Superior Court’s decision in Frank v. Canada (Attorney-General), 2014 ONSC 907, invalidating the restrictions on expatriate voting in the Canada Elections Act, which the government is appealing. I blogged about the Superior Court’s… Continue reading
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People Power?
The Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms was sold to Canadians as the “people’s package” of constitutional reform, one that would empower citizens at the expense of the legislatures and governments. And, to be sure, the provincial governments opposed it because it curtailed their powers (as well as that of the federal government). Still, I have… Continue reading
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Foolish Hope
When I blogged last month about Frank v. Canada (Attorney-General), 2014 ONSC 907, the decision of Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice striking down the provisions of the Canada Elections Act disenfranchising Canadians who reside abroad for more than five years, I expressed the hope that “the government [would] save[] taxpayers money by not appealing.” Justice Penny’s ruling,… Continue reading
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Lazy Revolutionaries
The CBC’s Chris Hall already had a story along those lines a short while ago, but today the Globe and Mail contains Sean Fine’s masterful in-depth account of the back-story to the failed appointment of Justice Nadon to the Supreme Court and the government’s recent attempts to portray Chief Justice McLachlin as having acted improperly on this the matter when… Continue reading
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Voice After Exit!
In a decision released last week, Frank v. Canada (Attorney-General), 2014 ONSC 907, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice held that the disenfranchisement of Canadian citizens who have been resident abroad for more than five years is unconstitutional. The provisions of the Canada Elections Act at issue in Frank limited the right to vote from abroad… Continue reading
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Damn Your Party?
In my post last week assessing the merits of Bill C-559 (a.k.a. the “Reform Act“), I pointed out that it risked creating or embittering conflicts between the caucuses and members of political parties. In particular, I wrote that [i]t is at least conceivable that a leader would lose the support of the caucus while retaining… Continue reading
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The Ways of Change
I wrote last week about Bill C-559, the “Reform Act,” which if enacted would transfer some power from party leaders to MPs and caucuses in the House of Commons. Yesterday, I addressed the question whether the changes it would operate would be good for our democracy, and concluded that this is very doubtful. In this… Continue reading
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Where to Stand
I wrote last week about Bill C-559, the proposed “Reform Act” that would, if enacted by Parliament, shift some power from party leaders to parliamentary caucuses and maybe individual MPs. It would do so by making it impossible for a leader to deny a candidate chosen by a local party association the ability to run… Continue reading
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To Be Something
Speaking of our lawmakers, Pierre Trudeau (in)famously remarked that “when they are 50 yards from Parliament Hill, they are no longer honourable members, they are just nobodies.” Not that the honourable members fared any better on Parliament Hill ― over there they were, as he apparently also said, just “trained seals,” performing whatever tricks their party… Continue reading
