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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Law
Recognizing Substantive Equality As A Foundational Constitutional Principle, Patricia Hughes
Recognizing Substantive Equality As A Foundational Constitutional Principle, Patricia Hughes
Dalhousie Law Journal
The author proposes that substantive equality be recognized as a foundational constitutional principle. The foundational principles--or underlying constitutional norms-which constitute the constitutional framework have become more important as Canada matures as a regime governed by constitutional supremacy. Most prime social and political values have been recognized as underlying constitutional norms, including democracy, federalism, protection of minority rights, political speech and judicial independence. Although section 15 of the Charter has been interpreted as encompassing substantive equality, which has been identified as a significant social value by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court has yet to include it among the foundational …
Taking Stock: Securities Markets And The Division Of Powers, Robert Leckey, Eric Ward
Taking Stock: Securities Markets And The Division Of Powers, Robert Leckey, Eric Ward
Dalhousie Law Journal
Recent developments in Canada's securities markets highlight their national character and call for a fresh consideration of the question of federal securities regulation. Developments in the constitutional case law have changed the legal context, such that the trade and commerce and the peace, order and good government powers under the Constitution Act, 1867 would likely support federal securities legislation. The securities question, important in its own right, also serves as a case study for how the Supreme Court of Canada conducts division of powers analysis for matters that have undergone substantive change. The authors contend that competence over a provincial …
Contextualism: The Supreme Court's New Standard Of Judicial Analysis And Accountability, Shalin Sugunasiri
Contextualism: The Supreme Court's New Standard Of Judicial Analysis And Accountability, Shalin Sugunasiri
Dalhousie Law Journal
Over the past few years, the "contextual approach" to law has acquired considerable cachet in juridical discourses across the country. In the Supreme Court of Canada, contextualism is now the new standard of judicial analysis and accountability This article analyzes a decade of Supreme court jurisprudence on Charter interpretation, statutory interpretation and the common law in order to fully explicate what contextualism in law is, where it came from, and how it has achieved its current pre-eminent status. The future promise of the contextual approach is also here canvassed through a dialectical engagement with postmodernist concerns respecting inherent legal indeterminacies.
Reconsidering The Charter And Election Boundaries, Mark Carter
Reconsidering The Charter And Election Boundaries, Mark Carter
Dalhousie Law Journal
This article argues for a judicial interpretation of the right to vote under s.3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that places more emphasis upon ihe principle of the equal power of every vote-"one person, one vote"--than maybe suggested by the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Reference re: Electoral Boundaries Commission Act. This becomes an issue of particular importance when a government is suspected of engaging in gerrymandering. Gerrymandering involves enhancing expected electoral support by ensuring that fewer votes will be needed to elect representatives in ridingspredictedto support the government. Any concessions governments may wish to make …
The Most Dangerous Justice: Measuring Judicial Power In The Lamer Court, 1991-97, Peter Mccormick
The Most Dangerous Justice: Measuring Judicial Power In The Lamer Court, 1991-97, Peter Mccormick
Dalhousie Law Journal
The Suoreme Court is an important national institution, but it is also nine individuals with differing conceptions of the law, the constitution and the judicial role. When the Court divides, which it does about half the time, some judges tend more often than others to write or to sign the reasons that constitute the decision of the Court. This article explores the notion of "judiciapl ower" by looking at the way that judges have written opinions and signed on to the opinions of others for the first seven years of this decade, looking for the "most powerful" (melodramatically: the "most …
Bcgseu: Turning A Page In Canadian Human Rights Law, Dianne Pothier
Bcgseu: Turning A Page In Canadian Human Rights Law, Dianne Pothier
Dianne Pothier Collection
The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGSEU) v. British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission)' starts like a classic Lord Denning judgment. Within the first few lines, without even knowing what the legal issue really is, you know who is going to win because of how that person is presented. Justice McLachlin's judgment, speaking for a unanimous nine-person Court, begins by noting that the grievor, Tawney Meiorin, "did her work well" but nonetheless "lost her job."' It was that dissonance that made the facts of the case compelling for reinstatement. But what …
Redressing The Imbalances: Rethinking The Judicial Role After R. V R.D.S., Dianne Pothier, Richard Devlin
Redressing The Imbalances: Rethinking The Judicial Role After R. V R.D.S., Dianne Pothier, Richard Devlin
Dianne Pothier Collection
The Decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. R.D.S. dealt with whether a trial judge's comments, about interactions between police officers and "non-white groups", gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias in the circumstances. They strongly criticize the contrary ruling of the dissent as inappropriately drawing a false dichotomy between decisions based on evidence and decisions based on generalizations, and as improperly ignoring social context with an unwarranted confidence in the ideology of colour blindness. While more supportive of the majority's analysis, the authors also find cause for concern, with somewhat different emphasis in the nature …