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Full-Text Articles in Law
Equal, But Only Conceptually: Explaining The Phenomenon Of Religious Losses In Contemporary Canadian Constitutional Cases Involving Conflicting Rights, Mike Madden
Dalhousie Law Journal
If there is no hierarchy of rights in Canada, then why does freedom of religion so often seem to lose in cases of conflicts with other rights? This article discusses five recent Canadian cases (involving same-sex marriages, controversial medical practices, the wearing of a niqab, and a Christian university’s sexual conduct policy) in order to expose how the courts regularly characterize freedom of religion as being conceptually equal to other rights, before ruling against freedom of religion on the facts of the particular cases. This phenomenon within Canadian rights jurisprudence is then justified within the article by reference to a …
Reassessing The Constitutional Foundation Of Delegated Legislation In Canada, Lorne Neudorf
Reassessing The Constitutional Foundation Of Delegated Legislation In Canada, Lorne Neudorf
Dalhousie Law Journal
This article assesses the constitutionalfoundation by which Parliament lends its lawmaking powers to the executive, which rests upon a century-old precedent established by the Supreme Court of Canada in a constitutional challenge to wartime legislation. While the case law demonstrates that courts have continued to follow this earlyprecedent to allow theparliamentary delegation of sweeping lawmaking powers to the executive, it is time for courts to reassess the constitutionality ofdelegation in light ofCanada's status as a liberal democracy embedded within a system of constitutional supremacy. Under the Constitution of Canada, Parliament is placed firmly at the centre ofpublic policymaking by being …
Canadian Constitutional Identities, Eric M. Adams
Canadian Constitutional Identities, Eric M. Adams
Dalhousie Law Journal
Constitutions are stories nations tell about themselves. Despite the famous declaration in the Constitution Act, 1867 that the "Provinces ofCanada...Desire...a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom," most of Canada's constitutional history can be understood as the search for a distinctly Canadian constitutional identity Canadians have always looked to their constitutional instruments to both reflect and produce a particular vision of the nation and its citizens. This article focuses on the search for Canada s constitutional identity during its first century as a nation, from Confederation until the 1960s. Drawing on a varied array of sources and …
The Myth Of Jus Tractatus In La Belle Province: Quebec's Gérin-Lajoie Statement, Stéphane Beaulac
The Myth Of Jus Tractatus In La Belle Province: Quebec's Gérin-Lajoie Statement, Stéphane Beaulac
Dalhousie Law Journal
There is much debate in Quebec challenging the traditional stance on jus tractatus," prevalent for nearly 100 years, to the effect that the federal government enjoys plenary power to enter into international treaties, whether the subject matter is federal or provincial. The paper argues that Quebec's Gdrin-Lajoie "doctrine" has become a myth over the years, liable to have a huge semiotic effect, creating the perception that there is an incontestably true legal basis for provincial treatymaking power After dwelling upon the ontological understanding of mythology, the author shows that the constitutional practice since the emancipation from Great Britain, as well …
The National Class As Extraterritorial Legislation, Jeffrey Haylock
The National Class As Extraterritorial Legislation, Jeffrey Haylock
Dalhousie Law Journal
This article argues that provincially constituted multijurisdictional class actions violate the constitutional law of extraterritoriality. It begins with a brief overview of the lawof adjudicativejurisdiction, then provides a longer overviewof the separate body of law that imposes extraterritorial limits on substantive provincial legislation. The author then demonstrates the substantive characterof classaction legislation, which necessarily entails the applicability of the law ofextraterritoriality However, much of the relevant jurisprudence, as well as some of the relevant academic literature, has ignored this important issue.Application ofthe lawofextraterritoriality does, indeed, raise serious constitutional concerns, as the article's central section demonstrates. The desirable efficiencies of national …
A Proposed Transjudicial Approach To S. 15(2) Charter Adjudication, Vanita Goela
A Proposed Transjudicial Approach To S. 15(2) Charter Adjudication, Vanita Goela
Dalhousie Law Journal
Canada and India are both pluralistic democracies with diverse populations. Both countries have drafted constitutional provisions which enshrine equality rights and permit affirmative action. In India, various disadvantaged groups receive special protection from the Constitution of India, such as the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The Supreme Court of India has held that States and the Central government must identify the "creamy layer" within the OBC category so that reservations target members who are most in need. Otherwise, the OBC category is overinclusive. The creamy layer includes those who are socially and economically advanced and who no longer require the benefits …
Something To Talk About: Is There A Charter Right To Access Government Information?, Vincent Kazmierski
Something To Talk About: Is There A Charter Right To Access Government Information?, Vincent Kazmierski
Dalhousie Law Journal
Can sections 2(b) and 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms be interpreted to protect a constitutional right of access to government information? The author argues that the constitutional principle of democracy provides a foundation for judicial recognition of such a constitutional right of access even though the inclusion ofan explicit right to access to government information was rejected during the process of drafting the Charter Given that the Supreme Court of Canada's section 2(b) and 3 jurisprudence has been informed by the principle of democracy, the application of the principle may now guide the Court to include …
Deciding In The Heat Of The Constitutional Moment Constitutional Meaning And Change In The Quebec Secession Reference, Jonathon W. Penney
Deciding In The Heat Of The Constitutional Moment Constitutional Meaning And Change In The Quebec Secession Reference, Jonathon W. Penney
Dalhousie Law Journal
The Quebec Secession Reference addressed divisive issues with far-reaching implications for the Canadian constitutional order. Recently, commentators have called for a less traditional and more systematic approach to understanding the decision, and its place in the broader scheme of Canadian constitutionalism. Accordingly, this paper challenges the predominant narrative concerning the Quebec Secession Reference, which is largely judge-centred and shows little regard for the important historical, political, and popular forces so crucial to understanding the decision. The challenge is mounted through the work of Yale constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman and his theory of constitutional moments. This paper uses Ackerman's criteria of …
The Language Question In A Rainbow Nation: The South African Experience, Albie L. Sachs
The Language Question In A Rainbow Nation: The South African Experience, Albie L. Sachs
Dalhousie Law Journal
In this, the twenty-second annual Horace E. Read Memorial Lecture, Mr. Justice Albie Sachs reviews the efforts to resolve problems of multilingualism in the new Constitution of South Africa. Writing from experience in the constitution-making process, he reflects on the reality of eleven different languages in South Africa. He discusses the consequent problems of legislative strategy and linguistic rights and the appropriate balance amongst language rights, policy and practice.
Mélanges Jean Beetz, Teresa Scassa
Mélanges Jean Beetz, Teresa Scassa
Dalhousie Law Journal
Melanges Jean Beetz is a collection of essays honouring the late Supreme Court of Canadajudge who died in 1991 after a lengthy battle with illness. The timing of the publication of the book, some five years after his death, places the work within what is perhaps a fitting social and political context. The constitutional crises that have plagued this country continue in what seems to be a period of heightened alienation between Quebec and the rest of Canada. An exploration of the contribution of Justice Beetz to the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada may be of assistance in …
Does Canada Need A Social Charter?, Matthew Certosimo
Does Canada Need A Social Charter?, Matthew Certosimo
Dalhousie Law Journal
Over the decade since the birth of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, expectations that it would impact greatly on the lives of Canadians have gone largely unfulfilled for those regarded as being the most in need of its protection. A recent decision of the Nova Scotia County Court has reminded critics that the narrow interpretation given the Charter'se quality2 and security oftheperson3 provisions, particularly with regard to social and economic rights, excludes from its purview the well-being of Canadians in economic need.
Canadian Constitutional Law And Madame Justice Bertha Wilson - Patriot, Visionary And Heretic, James Macpherson
Canadian Constitutional Law And Madame Justice Bertha Wilson - Patriot, Visionary And Heretic, James Macpherson
Dalhousie Law Journal
In the remainder of this paper I will consider Justice Wilson's contribution to Canadian constitutional law. The paper has three parts. Each has a different theme, although the themes overlap in places. I have given these themes labels, each reflecting, I believe, a significant feature of Justice Wilson's constitutional thinking and writing. The labels are Justice Wilson as - Patriot, Visionary and Heretic. In the next three parts of this paper I will deal with each of these themes, with reference principally to her decisions in Charter cases but also with occasional references to her decisions in other categories of …
The Politics Of The Imagination: A Life Of F.R. Scott, J King Gordon
The Politics Of The Imagination: A Life Of F.R. Scott, J King Gordon
Dalhousie Law Journal
The task of a biographer is a challenging one at best. And when the subject is one who has achieved distinction in many fields the difficulties are magnified many times. Better, perhaps, to settle for a Festschift where colleagues and friends in fields in which the subject has excelled join together to pay their separate tributes. So in the case of Frank Scott and his biographer, Sandra Djwa. She is a professor of literature and has achieved recognition for the work she has done on the writings and life of E.J. Pratt. It was undoubtedly Frank Scott, the distinguished Canadian …
Constitutional Law (Kempo), Jutta Brunnée
Constitutional Law (Kempo), Jutta Brunnée
Dalhousie Law Journal
In 1976 Carl Heymanns Verlag published the first volume of a series on Japanese law. A recent addition to this collection covering areas as diverse as civil and criminal procedure, labor law, nuclear energy law, and international law, is Miyazawa Toshiyoshi's (1899-1976) book on constitutional law. With this German translation, Robert Heuser and Yamasaki Kazuaki provide their readers with the first systematical overview on Japanese constitutional law in a western language.