Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Canada (102)
- Canada. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (56)
- Constitutional law (35)
- Canada. Supreme Court (19)
- Judicial review (14)
-
- United States (9)
- Civil rights (6)
- Democracy (6)
- Federal government (5)
- Constitutional history (3)
- Constitutional law--Interpretation and construction (3)
- Freedom of religion (3)
- Indigenous peoples--Legal status, laws, etc. (3)
- Mandatory sentences (3)
- National security--Law and legislation (3)
- Abortion (2)
- Administrative law (2)
- Appellate courts (2)
- Constitutional amendments (2)
- Deportation (2)
- Discrimination--Law and legislation (2)
- Etc. (2)
- European Union (2)
- Freedom of speech (2)
- Germany (2)
- Government accountability (2)
- Government liability (2)
- Human rights (2)
- Indigenous peoples--Government relations (2)
- Judicial power (2)
Articles 61 - 90 of 128
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Constitutionalization Of Quebec Libel Law, 1848-2004, Joseph Kary
The Constitutionalization Of Quebec Libel Law, 1848-2004, Joseph Kary
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In 1848, a Quebec judge changed the law of defamation to accord with the newly-applicable constitutional right to freedom of speech. His decision and those that followed seem strange now that the Supreme Court of Canada has held that Charter rights do not apply to private law. These decisions show that the constitutionalization of libel law was not an American innovation, but rather one that emerged in Canada over a century earlier. This article analyzes the Quebec cases in detail, and suggests that they were grounded in liberal ideas about the British Constitution that were prevalent in Lower Canada at …
The War On Terror: Constitutional Governance In A State Of Permanent Warfare, W. Wesley Pue
The War On Terror: Constitutional Governance In A State Of Permanent Warfare, W. Wesley Pue
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article assesses Canada's principal legal responses to the challenge presented by terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. A review of major federal "anti-terrorism" legislation reveals a legislative response that fundamentally violates core constitutional principles while failing to significantly enhance public safety.
Incorporating Common Law Into The Constitution Of Canada: Egale V. Canada And The Status Of Marriage, Mark D. Walters
Incorporating Common Law Into The Constitution Of Canada: Egale V. Canada And The Status Of Marriage, Mark D. Walters
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada raise complicated questions about the relationship between the common law and the Constitution. In particular, a distinction may now be drawn between constitutional common law concepts that are "incorporated" by the Constitution and those that are "free-standing" or "text-emergent." The author explores the significance of these distinctions by examining the argument, accepted in the recent case of EGALE V. Canada, that the reference to marriage in section 91(26) of the Constitution serves to incorporate the common law definition of marriage into the Constitution, thus preventing federal or provincial legislation from legalizing same-sex …
Racial And Ethnic Profiling: Statutory Discretion, Constitutional Remedies, And Democratic Accountability, Sujit Choudhry, Kent Roach
Racial And Ethnic Profiling: Statutory Discretion, Constitutional Remedies, And Democratic Accountability, Sujit Choudhry, Kent Roach
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Given the prominence of the issue of racial, ethnic, and religious profiling in the public debate about terrorism, it is significant that Canada's two legislative responses to September 11 - the Anti-terrorism Act and the proposed Public Safety Act - are silent on the issue, neither explicitly authorizing profiling nor expressly banning it. In this article, we focus on the constitutional remedies available for profiling in the face of these statutory silences, and the implication that the choice of remedies holds for both remedial efficacy and democratic accountability. Contrary to the position held by the majority of the Supreme Court …
Twenty Years Of Labour Law And The Charter, Dianne Pothier
Twenty Years Of Labour Law And The Charter, Dianne Pothier
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article critically reviews the Charter jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada relating to labour law. The rejection of the right to strike and to bargain collectively as part of freedom of association reflect substantial judicial deference to legislative policy choices. Recently, however, a constitutional right of unfair labour protection for particularly vulnerable workers shows some judicial willingness to intervene. While freedom of expression provides significant scope to union supporters, picketing and leafleting are still subject to wide restraint, the exact parameters of which remain unclear. The Charter has had only a modest effect on labour law. Even successful …
Lesbians, Gay Men, And The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Brenda Cossman
Lesbians, Gay Men, And The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Brenda Cossman
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The legacy of the first twenty years of the Charter for lesbians and gay men is a contradictory one of victories and defeats. At the level of doctrine, strategy, and politics, both the victories and defeats have been precarious and contradictory. While gaining formal equality rights, lesbians and gay men have not been able to secure rights to sexual freedom. And while formal equality has displaced the heteronormativity that denied legal recognition and subjectivity to lesbians and gay men, this formal equality has come at a cost. Lesbians and gay men are being reconstituted in law: some are being newly …
Justified Limits On Free Expression: The Collapse Of The General Approach To Limits On Charter Rights, Richard Moon
Justified Limits On Free Expression: The Collapse Of The General Approach To Limits On Charter Rights, Richard Moon
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The author argues that the apparent collapse or erosion of the Oakes test reflects the problem of fitting a right such as freedom of expression, which is social and relational in character, into a structure of constitutional adjudication, which is built on an individualist conception of rights. In the leading Canadian freedom of expression cases, the task for the courts under section I is not simply to strike the proper balance between competing interests, but rather to resolve the single but complex question of whether the expression contributes to, or undermines, human agency or autonomous judgment. In these cases, the …
The Charter, Equality Rights, And Women: Equivocation And Celebration, Diana Majury
The Charter, Equality Rights, And Women: Equivocation And Celebration, Diana Majury
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In this article, the author examines some of the critiques made and some of the aspirations raised in the early days of the Charter by left/feminist/marginalized groups about the Charter, the equality guarantee, and the judicial decision makers. The author explores how these fears and hopes have played out with respect to Charter equality rights for women by looking at some of the sex equality decisions that have been made by the Supreme Court of Canada. The cases are discussed under the headings of reproduction, violence against women, family, employment, and socio-economic claims to explore how the sex equality analysis …
Exchanging Constitutions: Constitutional Bricolage In Canada, David Schneiderman
Exchanging Constitutions: Constitutional Bricolage In Canada, David Schneiderman
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Judicial recourse to constitutional law sources from abroad has been likened to the process of bricolage--coined by anthropologist Claude Lévi- Strauss, this refers to the "borrowing from materials readily at hand." Building on the idea of constitutional borrowing, this paper aims to take account of the role dominant political culture plays in constitutional interpretation, in particular, the values associated with economic globalization. If resort to comparative constitutional sources is on the rise, dominant political culture will likely have the effect of limiting the stock of tools available to judges. The author argues that, in an age of economic globalization, the …
The Ideal Victim, The Hysterical Complainant, And The Disclosure Of Confidential Records: The Implications Of The Charter For Sexual Assault Law, Lise Gotell
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article explores the current state of Canadian law on the production and disclosure of complainants' records to reflect upon the implications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for Canadian sexual assault law and jurisprudence. Some scholars assert that the Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Mills, upholding section 278 of the Criminal Code governing access to complainants' records, constitutes an erosion of accuseds' rights and an unjustified compromise of constitutional standards. By contrast, this article demonstrates that R. v. Mills is a highly contradictory decision that can be read as creating an interpretation of section 278 that …
Using The Charter To Stop Racial Profiling: The Development Of An Equality-Based Conception Of Arbitrary Detention, David M. Tanovich
Using The Charter To Stop Racial Profiling: The Development Of An Equality-Based Conception Of Arbitrary Detention, David M. Tanovich
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Do the police use race as a proxy for criminality, particularly, in drug cases? If so, is this a rational discriminatory practice that is based on who the usual offender is or an offensive exercise of racial prejudice? What are the consequences for those communities targeted by the police? This article investigates these questions that have gone unanswered for too long in Canada. After offering a definition of racial profiling, evidence is presented that suggests that the practice is rampant in the United States and is likely practiced by some Canadian police forces, particularly, in cities with large visible minority …
Searching For Smith: The Constitutionality Of Mandatory Sentences, Kent Roach
Searching For Smith: The Constitutionality Of Mandatory Sentences, Kent Roach
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada on the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentences, from R. v. Smith to R. v. Latimer, is reviewed and assessed in light of relevant developments in constitutional law and sentencing. These include the Supreme Courts increasing interest in constitutional minimalism and corresponding reluctance to rely on hypothetical offenders and facial declarations of invalidity. The manner in which the Court's increasing concern for crime victims and fault levels has been used to justify upholding mandatory sentences is examined. The author also relates this jurisprudence to trends in sentencing, including an increasing acceptance of mandatory …
The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, And The Eighth Amendment's Rule Against Cruel And Unusual Punishments, Jamie Cameron
The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, And The Eighth Amendment's Rule Against Cruel And Unusual Punishments, Jamie Cameron
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The text of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit cruel and unusual punishment in language that is similar but not identical. Still, in considering constitutional restrictions on punishment, the deviations of the Supreme Court both focus on the concept of gross disproportionality between the offence committed and the state’s response. Despite the appearance of similarity, this article maintains that differences in the American law of sentencing explain why Canada ought not follow or adopt the United States approach to minimum sentences.
Disarming Canadians, And Arming Them With Tolerance: Banning Firearms And Minimum Sentences To Control Violent Crime--An Essay On An Apparent Contradiction, Helene Dumont
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In an article published in French in 1997, the author offered reflections on feminism and criminal law that would allow for a better control of violent crime, without Parliament having to resort to excessively severe sentences. In this respect, she argued that there was no contradiction in supporting the radical ban of firearms in Canada, while opposing a minimum sentence of four years under the Firearms Act, which currently affects approximately ten serious Criminal Code offences. After setting out her position in favour of the "disarmament" of Canadians, the author argued that minimum sentences of four years were unconstitutional. Such …
Securing Accountability Through Commissions Of Inquiry: A Role For The Law Commission Of Canada, Robert Centa, Patrick Macklem
Securing Accountability Through Commissions Of Inquiry: A Role For The Law Commission Of Canada, Robert Centa, Patrick Macklem
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Focusing on the Government of Ontario's unwillingness to call a public inquiry into the death of Dudley George, an Aboriginal protester, and the Government of Canada's willingness to interfere with an inquiry into the deployment of Canadian forces to Somalia, this article argues that governments appear increasingly reluctant to support a commission of inquiry into a public crisis even where it can serve as a catalyst for addressing larger and more pressing concerns of institutional and policy reform. It first addresses "start-up problems" associated with the fact that the decision to appoint a commission of inquiry lies within the sole …
Race And The Australian Constitution: From Federation To Reconciliation, George Williams
Race And The Australian Constitution: From Federation To Reconciliation, George Williams
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The framing of the Australian Constitution initiated a pattern of discrimination against Australia's Indigenous peoples. They were cast as outsiders to the nation brought about in 1901. This pattern was broken in 1967 by the deletion of the discriminatory provisions from the Constitution. Today, there is strong community support in Australia for the reconciliation process, which would involve recognition of Indigenous peoples as an integral and unique component of the Australian nation. However, this has yet to be translated into substantive legal outcomes. The author analyses the interaction of issues of race and the Australian Constitution as it has affected …
Bill 11, The Canada Health Act And The Social Union: The Need For Institutions, Sujit Choudhry
Bill 11, The Canada Health Act And The Social Union: The Need For Institutions, Sujit Choudhry
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article argues that the debate over the future of Medicare has been dominated by financial considerations at the expense of an examination of the place of supervisory institutions in the health care system. Supervisory institutions will be of central importance to the future of Medicare because any future system will include some national standards, which, to be effective, must be interpreted, applied and enforced by institutions of some kind. This article focuses on two specific institutional questions: the dismal record of federal enforcement of the existing national standards of the Canada Health Act, and the pressing need for dispute-settlement …
Law's Expression: The Promise And Perils Of Judicial Opinion Writing In Canadian Constitutional Law, Paul Horwitz
Law's Expression: The Promise And Perils Of Judicial Opinion Writing In Canadian Constitutional Law, Paul Horwitz
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article argues that there is a link between one's theory of constitutional law, and one's judgments about style in judicial opinion writing. It identifies several special functions of the constitutional opinion, including the democratic function of responding to the counter-majoritarian difficulty through an act of public justification, and the inter-generational function of provoking a temporally extended dialogue about constitutional values. Drawing on these functions, it argues for an opinion writing style dubbed "open-textured minimalism," that seeks to resolve cases narrowly, articulate fundamental values and principles, and spark long-term debates about the underlying constitutional values supporting each decision. The author …
The Constitutional Legacy Of Chief Justice Brian Dickson, Robert J. Sharpe
The Constitutional Legacy Of Chief Justice Brian Dickson, Robert J. Sharpe
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Chief Justice Brian Dickson played a central role in the elaboration of the fundamental values of the Canadian Constitution. He took a balanced approach to federalism, favouring neither federal nor provincial claims and inviting cooperation through overlapping jurisdiction. Dickson transformed the rule of law from a background value to an operative constitutional principle. His judgments on the rights of minorities reflect a remarkable empathy for the plight of the disadvantaged. Democracy informed all aspects of his constitutional thinking. Dickson rejected the contention that judicial review is anti-democratic, and his constitutional legacy reflects a sustained effort to harmonize all four fundament …
Sovereignty's Alchemy: An Analysis Of Delgamuukw V. British Columbia, John Borrows
Sovereignty's Alchemy: An Analysis Of Delgamuukw V. British Columbia, John Borrows
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its long-awaited judgment on the status of Aboriginal title under section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982. The decision was regarded as highly significant because it seemed to fundamentally alter the law of Aboriginal rights. This article suggests that while the case has somewhat positively changed the law to protect Aboriginal title, it has also simultaneously sustained a legal framework that undermines Aboriginal land rights. In particular, the decision's unreflective acceptance of Crown sovereignty places Aboriginal title in a subordinate position relative to other legal rights. This article examines …
The Charter Of Rights And Freedoms And The Rebalancing Of Liberal Constitutionalism In Canada, 1982-1997, James B. Kelly
The Charter Of Rights And Freedoms And The Rebalancing Of Liberal Constitutionalism In Canada, 1982-1997, James B. Kelly
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article presents a statistical analysis of the first 352 Charter of Rights and Freedoms decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada between 1982 and 1997. The author argues that the emerging approach to Charter review by the Supreme Court of Canada has led to a rebalancing of liberal constitutionalism and to a reconciliation between Charter rights and federalism. This stands in stark contrast to the highly activist approach to Charter review detected in studies by Morton, Russell, and Withey and, to a lesser extent, by Morton, Russell, and Riddell. Several factors illustrate the rebalancing of liberal constitutionalism in Canada. …
L'Indépendance Judiciaire Et La Cour Suprême: Reconstruction Historique Douteuse Et Théorie Constitutionnelle De Complaisance, Jean Leclair, Yves-Marie Morissette
L'Indépendance Judiciaire Et La Cour Suprême: Reconstruction Historique Douteuse Et Théorie Constitutionnelle De Complaisance, Jean Leclair, Yves-Marie Morissette
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Reference re: Remuneration of Judges in the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island has given judicial independence a surprising interpretation. A majority of the Court stated that this principle requires legislative bodies to establish independent procedures for setting judicial salaries. The Court maintained that the basis of judicial independence is to be found in the preamble of the Constitution Act, 1867, rather than the express provisions of the constitutional text. The authors argue in Part I of this article that the Court transformed fundamentally and without reason traditional conceptions …
Antidiscrimination And Affirmative Action Policies: Economic Efficiency And The Constitution, Edward M. Iacobucci
Antidiscrimination And Affirmative Action Policies: Economic Efficiency And The Constitution, Edward M. Iacobucci
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article assesses the economic efficiency of race-based antidiscrimination and affirmative action policies with a view to assessing relevant Canadian and American constitutional law. The article reviews economic arguments about why antidiscrimination laws may be efficient in addressing externalities, in hastening the exit of bigoted employers from the market, and in preventing the potentially inefficient use of race as a proxy for information; affirmative action may be efficient in accounting for differential signaling costs across race. The article concludes that economic analysis supports the approach in section 15 of the Charter which generally bans discriminatory government action, but recognizes that …
"Pro-Life" Absolutes, Feminist Challenges: The Fundamentalist Narrative Of Irish Abortion Law 1986-1992, Ruth Fletcher
"Pro-Life" Absolutes, Feminist Challenges: The Fundamentalist Narrative Of Irish Abortion Law 1986-1992, Ruth Fletcher
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article asks how Irish abortion law developed to the point of stopping a young pregnant rape victim from travelling abroad to have an abortion in 1992 (Attorney General v. X.). The author argues that this case, which ultimately saw the Irish Supreme Court overturn that decision and recognize the young woman's right to abortion, was the last chapter of the fundamentalist narrative of Irish abortion law. The feminist critique of that law needs to consider its particular fundamentalist aspects in order to clarify the obstacles posed to the struggle for Irish women's reproductive freedom. The author argues that a …
A Bill Of Rights For The United Kingdom: From London To Strasbourg By The Northwest Passage?, Stephen Sedley
A Bill Of Rights For The United Kingdom: From London To Strasbourg By The Northwest Passage?, Stephen Sedley
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In anticipation of the United Kingdom's patriation of the European Convention on Human Rights, the author explores the possible impact that a Bill of Rights will have on the U.K. system of justice from a European and U.K. perspective. The author argues that, from a European perspective, the U.K. has an established history of yielding to supra-national law given its membership in the European Union. However, from a U.K. perspective, this will present new challenges, as the constitutionality of domestic legislation is subject to increased judicial scrutiny in ensuring conformance with European Convention obligations. The author argues that the pressures …
R. V. Oakes 1986-1997: Back To The Drawing Board, Leon E. Trakman, William Cole-Hamilton, Sean Gatien
R. V. Oakes 1986-1997: Back To The Drawing Board, Leon E. Trakman, William Cole-Hamilton, Sean Gatien
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The Supreme Court of Canada, in R. v. Oakes, identified two standards of justification in applying section 1. The first standard was normative. The second was methodological, called the Oakes test. The Court, until recently, applied the Oakes test mechanically and avoided the normative standard. More recently, in Egan v. Canada and RJR-MacDonald Inc. v. Canada (A.G.), it resorted to a normative analysis that is indeterminate and unpredictable. This article challenges both the mechanical application of the Oakes test and the Court's new normative approach. It proposes, and illustrates, a preferable alternative that is both determinate and predictable. It is …
Interprovincial Sovereign Immunity Revisited, Janet Walker
Interprovincial Sovereign Immunity Revisited, Janet Walker
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The conventional wisdom has been that the Canadian provincial Crowns are immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of other Canadian provinces just as they are immune from the jurisdiction of foreign courts. This reflects the old views that the provinces are like foreign countries for the purposes of the conflict of laws and that court jurisdiction over the Crown is purely a creature of statute. Recent recognition of the constitutional bases for court jurisdiction and the need to reassess conflict of laws rules in light of the principles of Canadian federalism invites us to revisit interprovincial sovereign immunity, especially …
Religion, Custody, And A Child's Identities, Shauna Van Praagh
Religion, Custody, And A Child's Identities, Shauna Van Praagh
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Custody decisionmaking in which religion plays a role is significant from the perspective of parents, children, religious communities, and the liberal diverse state. Neither a family law analysis based on best interests, nor a constitutional law analysis based on parental rights, provides a wholly satisfactory response to the task of delineating custody and access when religion is at issue. Instead, a child's sense of identity, partly defined through membership in religious communities, must be considered; at the same time, the child's integrity must be protected. By balancing a child's interests of identity and integrity, courts respect religious freedoms and custodial …
The Past, Present, And Future Of Expressive Freedom Under The Charter, Jamie Cameron
The Past, Present, And Future Of Expressive Freedom Under The Charter, Jamie Cameron
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
More than ten years have passed since the Supreme Court of Canada's first interpretation of the Charter's guarantee of expressive freedom in RWDSU v. Dolphin Delivery. This review of the past, present, and future of expressive freedom under the Charter is in three parts. The first-dealing with the past-traces the evolution of a methodology of expressive freedom in the "first generation" of s. 2(b) jurisprudence. It is followed by an examination of the status of expressive freedom at present, through comments on recent Supreme Court landmarks in Dagenais v. Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto, and …
The Charter Dialogue Between Courts And Legislatures (Or Perhaps The Charter Of Rights Isn't Such A Bad Thing After All), Peter W. Hogg, Allison A. Bushell
The Charter Dialogue Between Courts And Legislatures (Or Perhaps The Charter Of Rights Isn't Such A Bad Thing After All), Peter W. Hogg, Allison A. Bushell
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article responds to the argument that judicial review of legislation under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is illegitimate because it is undemocratic. The authors show that Charter cases nearly always can be, and often are, followed by new legislation that still accomplishes the same objectives as the legislation that was struck down. The effect of the Charter is rarely to block a legislative objective, but rather to influence the design of implementing legislation. Charter cases cause a public debate in which Charter-protected rights have a more prominent role than they would have if there had been no …