government

September 13, 2022

Shapes and Sizes

Public lawyers (and public law students) should think about government size―and shape Continue reading

Constitutional Theory, History, Law and economics

accountability, courts, government, legislation
August 17, 2022

The Good Government Trilemma

If you like big government, be prepared to sacrifice democracy or accountability Continue reading

Constitutional Theory, Law and economics, Political philosophy

accountability, democracy, government, political ignorance, trade-offs
February 28, 2019

Our Government

Some implications from Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony Continue reading

Administrative Law, Constitutional law

delegation, government, incentives
February 14, 2017

Accountability Ersatz

The Court Challenges Program shows accountable government is no substitute for a small government Continue reading

Political philosophy

accountability, Court Challenges Program, government
January 14, 2013

Why?

A friend recently challenged my habitual skepticism about the government: “Why is it,” he asked, “that if something is a public service, we always question whether it should be? Isn’t that just ideology?” It’s a good question, and since the views that underpin it are widely held, it is worth answering here. Note that I Continue reading

Political philosophy

economics, efficiency, government, information, market, social choice
January 13, 2013

This Will Be Good

I wrote last summer about the issue whether a federal legislature could enact a statute in order to implement a treaty despite the fact that, absent the treaty, the statute would be ultra vires (because provincial or state, rather than the federal legislatures have jurisdiction over its subject matter. If so, I said, this would Continue reading

Constitutional Theory

federalism, government, U.S. constitutional law
August 16, 2012

A different ERA?

The ERA – the the Expenditure Restraint Act, S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 393 – is actually the same that was at issue in Association des Réalisateurs c. Canada (Procureur Général), 2012 QCCS 3223, which I blogged about a month ago. But the conclusion of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Association of Justice Counsel v. Canada (Attorney Continue reading

Constitutional law

collective bargaining, freedom of association, government, unions
July 23, 2012

Go Ask Your Mom!

Is it conceivable that states, like a child who, denied by one parent, asks the other to let them stay up late, ask around for permission to do something they would not normally be permitted? Lord Atkin enlisted the threat of such a course of action as an argument in his famous opinion for the Continue reading

Constitutional Theory, Political philosophy

federalism, government
July 18, 2012

No Resraint

The Superior Court of Québec issued a potentially far-reaching decision last week, declaring a number of provisions of the Expenditure Restraint Act, S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 393, constitutionally inapplicable to the CBC/Société Radio-Canada. In Association des Réalisateurs c. Canada (Procureur Général), 2012 QCCS 3223, justice Lise Matteau held that the application of provisions limiting Continue reading

Constitutional law, Political philosophy

collective bargaining, freedom of association, government, unions
June 16, 2012

A Reasonable Opinion

The Supreme Court delivered an interesting decision in Halifax (Regional Municipality) v. Canada (Public Works and Government Services), 2012 SCC 29, yesterday. On the surface, it is a rather dull, or at least purely technical, case about the proper method of assessing the value of land occupied by a historical monument. But it has much broader implications, Continue reading

Administrative Law

discretion, government, judicial review