Essential Readings in Canadian Constitutional Politics
Essential Readings in Canadian Constitutional Politics

Author: Peter H. Russell

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 529

ISBN-13: 1442603682

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Essential Readings in Canadian Constitutional Politics introduces students, scholars, and practitioners to classic authors and writings on the principles of the Canadian Constitution as well as to select contemporary material. To complement rather than duplicate the state of the field, it deals with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and with Canadian mega-constitutional politics in passing only, focusing instead on institutions, federalism, intergovernmental relations, bilingualism and binationalism, the judiciary, minority rights, and constitutional renewal. Many of the selections reverberate well beyond Canada's borders, making this volume an unrivalled resource for anyone interested in constitutional governance and democratic politics in diverse societies.

Constitutional Amendment in Canada
Constitutional Amendment in Canada

Author: Emmett Macfarlane

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2016-01-01

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1442628731

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Constitutional Amendment in Canada is the first volume to focus solely on the implications of the amending formula in Canada.

The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution
The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution

Author: Peter Oliver

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-08-10

Total Pages: 1169

ISBN-13: 0190664835

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The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution provides an ideal first stop for Canadians and non-Canadians seeking a clear, concise, and authoritative account of Canadian constitutional law. The Handbook is divided into six parts: Constitutional History, Institutions and Constitutional Change, Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian Constitution, Federalism, Rights and Freedoms, and Constitutional Theory. Readers of this Handbook will discover some of the distinctive features of the Canadian constitution: for example, the importance of Indigenous peoples and legal systems, the long-standing presence of a French-speaking population, French civil law and Quebec, the British constitutional heritage, the choice of federalism, as well as the newer features, most notably the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section Thirty-Five regarding Aboriginal rights and treaties, and the procedures for constitutional amendment. The Handbook provides a remarkable resource for comparativists at a time when the Canadian constitution is a frequent topic of constitutional commentary. The Handbook offers a vital account of constitutional challenges and opportunities at the time of the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Amendments

Author: Richard Albert

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-07-15

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0190640499

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Constitutional Amendments: Making, Breaking, and Changing Constitutions is both a roadmap for navigating the intellectual universe of constitutional amendments and a blueprint for building and improving the rules of constitutional change. Drawing from dozens of constitutions in every region of the world, this book blends theory with practice to answer two all-important questions: what is an amendment and how should constitutional designers structure the procedures of constitutional change? The first matters now more than ever. Reformers are exploiting the rules of constitutional amendment, testing the limits of legal constraint, undermining the norms of democratic government, and flouting the constitution as written to create entirely new constitutions that masquerade as ordinary amendments. The second question is central to the performance and endurance of constitutions. Constitutional designers today have virtually no resources to guide them in constructing the rules of amendment, and scholars do not have a clear portrait of the significance of amendment rules in the project of constitutionalism. This book shows that no part of a constitution is more important than the procedures we use change it. Amendment rules open a window into the soul of a constitution, exposing its deepest vulnerabilities and revealing its greatest strengths. The codification of amendment rules often at the end of the text proves that last is not always least.

Patriation and Its Consequences
Patriation and Its Consequences

Author: Lois Harder

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2015-06-17

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 0774828641

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Few moments in Canadian history are as intriguing as the political battle between Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the “Gang of Eight” provincial premiers who opposed his plans to “patriate” Canada’s constitution from Britain. This volume revisits these constitutional negotiations, including the personalities, visions, and political struggles that shaped the resulting constitutional agreement. Offering fresh perspectives on the politics of this key moment in Canadian history, it focuses on the players behind the patriation process, including First Nations and feminist activists, who helped shape Canada’s new constitution. Patriation and Its Consequences also explores the long shadow of patriation, including the alienation of Quebec, the character of Canadian federalism, Indigenous constitutionalism and Aboriginal treaty rights, and the struggle to ensure gender equality rights in Canada.

The Senate and the People of Canada
The Senate and the People of Canada

Author: James T. McHugh

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2017-09-20

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 149854794X

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The Senate of Canada is the upper house of its parliamentary system. It is an appointed legislative chamber that has been frequently derided for its apparent lack of effective activity, its failure to represent Canada’s federal system, and the perceived lack of accountability among its members. Reform of the Senate persists as one of the most contentious issues in the country. Typical reform proposals begin with the assumption that it must become an elected body that primarily represents Canada’s provinces and can serve as an effective check on the federal government and the House of Commons. This book challenges those assumptions through a thorough analysis that places the Senate within the context of other parliamentary upper houses. It presents a hypothetical constitutional amendment and a proposal for non-constitutional reform that are based upon alternative models derived from that broader context. The book ultimately recommends a Senate that remains unelected but with a more expansive appointment process that more appropriately reflects the optimal role of a parliamentary upper house as well as the diversity, regional aspirations, and political principles of Canadian democracy.

Essential Readings in Canadian Government and Politics
Essential Readings in Canadian Government and Politics

Author: Francois Rocher

Publisher:

Published: 2015-11

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781552396629

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"The book provides students with a collection of influential essays, debates, reports, book excerpts, speeches, academic writings, and more. Dating from pre-Confederation to the present day, this thematically arranged collection will be an asset to any course in Canadian politics."--

Canadian Federalism and Its Future
Canadian Federalism and Its Future

Author: Alain-G. Gagnon

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2020-09-23

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 0228002516

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The time is ripe to revisit Canada's past and redress its historical wrongs. Yet in our urgency to imagine roads to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, it is important to keep in sight the many other forms of diversity that Canadian federalism has historically been designed to accommodate or could also reflect more effectively. Canadian Federalism and Its Future brings together international experts to assess four fundamental institutions: bicameralism, the judiciary as arbiter of the federal deal, the electoral system and party politics, and intergovernmental relations. The contributors use comparative and critical lenses to appraise the repercussions of these four dimensions of Canadian federalism on key actors, including member states, constitutive units, internal nations, Indigenous peoples, and linguistic minorities. Pursuing the work of The Constitutions That Shaped Us (2015) and The Quebec Conference of 1864 (2018), this third volume is a testimony to Canada's successes and failures in constitutional design. Reflecting on the cultural pluralism inherent in this country, Canadian Federalism and Its Future offers thought-provoking lessons for a world in search of concrete institutional solutions, within and beyond the traditional nation-state.

The Routledge Handbook to Referendums and Direct Democracy
The Routledge Handbook to Referendums and Direct Democracy

Author: Laurence Morel

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-12-12

Total Pages: 530

ISBN-13: 1351360728

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Over the last 30 years referendums have played an increasingly important role in determining government policy. Recent high profile referendums in Scotland, Catalonia and Ukraine have continued the movement towards independence referendums following decolonization and the end of the Cold War. The Greek bailout referendum and Britain’s vote on membership of the EU reflect a tradition of European states giving their people a direct say in the transfer of sovereign powers to the European Union seen through the ratification of key treaties such as Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon. This Routledge Handbook covers key aspects and issues of direct democracy and referendums throughout the world including: •their history; •when, why, where, how and on which issues referendums are held; •why some referendums are more democratic than others; •how referendums are won; •whether they produce good policies; •if referendums increase participation and improve the quality of representative democracies; •do referendums increase trust in democracy and the political actors; •the impact of new technology on the possibilities, methods and frequency of direct public political participation; •how they should be regulated. Covering other related areas such as recall, citizen juries and random selection, this compendium is an indispensable guide to referendums and the workings of modern democracy.

Contemporary Federalist Thought in Quebec
Contemporary Federalist Thought in Quebec

Author: Antoine Brousseau Desaulniers

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2023-06-15

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 0228017920

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Quebec’s most recent attempts to assert its distinctiveness within Canada have relied on unilateral constitutional means to strengthen its French and secular character, suggesting that an important change of political culture has taken place in Quebec. With its diverse team of researchers, Contemporary Federalist Thought in Quebec considers the recent history of the debate that once threatened Canada with disjunction, exploring the federalist thought that continues to shape constitutional debate in Quebec. Examining historical perspectives from 1950 to the present day, the volume draws portraits of the key actors in the federalist movement – including political leaders, intellectuals, academics, activists, and spokespersons for pressure groups – comparing their various outlooks, interventions, and values, and examining the ties that bind these actors to the sense of nationalism that emerged during Quebec’s Quiet Revolution. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, Contemporary Federalist Thought in Quebec casts new light on the continuing debate surrounding Quebec’s place in Canada and gives nuance to what is traditionally conceived as a rigid opposition between sovereigntists and federalists in the province.