Public and Constitutional Law

This book provides an accessible yet thorough account of the constitutional protection and practical application of rights under the Canadian Charter. This seventh edition includes, for the first time, an analysis of the protection of Aboriginal and Treaty rights.

The text is organized into sections, in each section you'll find: the provisions of the Charter, the legislative history of the section, comparable provisions of the Canadian Bill of Rights (with applicable case digests), the American Constitution, the International Covenant and the European Convention, and practical and helpful annotations, organized by topic of decisions interpreting and applying the Charter.

This publication includes 47 chapters analyzing what the Supreme Court has said on key issues, including principles of interpretation and jurisdictional issues. It can help you determine whether the Charter applies to a case, the jurisdiction of courts to hear a Charter claim, and give guidance on practice and procedure in Charter cases, including evidentiary requirements, when an issue is moot and obtaining leave to appeal.

Four decades have passed since the adoption of the Constitution Act, 1982. Now it is time to assess its legacy. As Constitutional Crossroads makes clear, the 1982 constitutional package raises a host of questions about a number of important issues, including identity and pluralism, the scope and limits of rights, competing constitutional visions, the relationship between the state and Indigenous peoples, and the nature of constitutional change. This collection brings together essays that provide a robust account of the 1982 reform but also analyze the ensuing scholarship that has shaped our understanding of the Constitution.

This book explores how governments and Parliament justify limitations on rights when advancing laws that raise rights concerns or when responding to judicial decisions under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Through an analysis of legislation concerning criminal justice policy, the approval of new safe consumption sites, sex work, and medical assistance in dying, the book provides a detailed analysis of the extent and nature of parliamentary deliberation about rights, the extent to which government initiatives are properly scrutinized, and the broader institutional relationships under the Charter.

Section 33 - what is commonly referred to as the notwithstanding clause (NWC) - was written into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to allow Parliament and the provinces to provisionally override certain Charter rights. The Notwithstanding Clause and the Canadian Charter examines the NWC from all angles and perspectives, considering who should have the last word on matters of rights and justice - the legislatures or the unelected judiciary - and what balance liberal democracy requires.