Reading Time: 5 minutes The leading role of the Supreme Court of Canada is no longer in dispute, but there was a time when it had to struggle to establish its authority. The history of the Court began with section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which allowed Parliament to establish a “General Court of Appeal for Canada”. …if […]
Democratic Governance: The Constitution and Canada’s Branches of Government
Reading Time: 7 minutes Introduction Canada is a “constitutional monarchy,” which is a form of government where monarchs act as the political heads of state but their powers are kept within the boundaries of that country’s constitution. [1] In Canada, the monarch is the Queen. At the time of Confederation, the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act), as […]
Judicial Review is Different from Judicial Activism
Reading Time: 7 minutes Since the enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, there has been much discussion about the proper role of judges and courts in our democratic system. Commentators have noted, and many critics have complained, that decisions made and laws passed by our democratically elected representatives in Parliament and our provincial and […]
The Nadon Reference: A Unique Challenge
Reading Time: 8 minutes The judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in the “Nadon Reference,” more elegantly known as Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss. 5 and 6, [2014] 1 SCR 433 is one of the more controversial decisions of the Court in the fairly long list of defeats for the federal government in recent years. Can Justice […]
Top Courts in the U.S. and Canada: A Comparison
Reading Time: 4 minutes Knowledge of Canada or the United States is the best way to gain insight into the other North American country. Nations can be understood only in comparative perspective. And the more similar the units being compared, the more possible it should be to isolate the factors responsible for differences between them. Looking intensively at Canada […]
