The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution

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.

Peter Oliver is Full Professor and Vice Dean Research in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa.

Patrick Macklem is the William C. Graham Professor of Law at the University of Toronto, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Nathalie Des Rosiers is Full Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Contributors

1. Introduction by the Editors, Peter Oliver, Patrick Macklem & Nathalie Des Rosiers

Part I -- Constitutional History

Aboriginal Legal Systems and Governance

2. Indigenous Constitutionalism: Pre-existing Legal Genealogies in Canada
John Borrows

French-Canadians and the Constitution

3. Constitutional Debates in French Canada, 1764-1774
Michel Morin

1867: Confederation

4. 1867: Confederation
Robert Vipond

The British Constitutional Tradition

5. The British Legal Tradition in Canadian Constitutional Law
Mark Walters

Part II - Institutions and Constitutional Change

The Crown and the Executive

6. The Crown in Canada
Jennifer Smith & Marcella Firmini

7. The Executive, the Royal Prerogative and the Constitution
Craig Forcese

The Parliamentary System

8. Political Institutions in Canada in a New Era
Lori Turnbull

9. Parliamentary Sovereignty in Canada
John Lovell

The Courts

10. The Supreme Court of Canada and Appointment of Judges in Canada
Adam Dodek & Rosemary Cairns Way

11. Courts, Administrative Agencies and the Constitution
Lorne Sossin

Constitutional Amendment

12. Amending the Constitution of Canada
Benoit Pelletier

Part III - Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian Constitution

Aboriginal Sovereignty

13. Contending Sovereignties
Jeremy Weber

Treaties

14. Treaties as Constitutional Agreements
Sébastien Grammond

Aboriginal Peoples and the Constitution Act, 1982

15. The Form and Substance of Aboriginal Title: Assimilation, Recognition, Reconciliation
Patrick Macklem

16. The Section 35 Duty to Consult
Dwight Newman

17. Metis Constitutional Law Issues
Larry Chartrand

Part IV - Federalism

Federalism in Canada

18. From Dualism to Cooperative Federalism and Back?: Evolving and Competing Conceptions of Canadian Federalism
Jean-François Gaudreault-Desbiens & Johanne Poirier

19. Key Doctrines in Canadian Legal Federalism
Eugénie Brouillet & Bruce Ryder

20. The Spending Power in Canada
Hoi Kong

Federalism in Context

21. Federalism and Health Care in Canada: A Troubled Romance
Colleen Flood, William Lahey & Bryan Thomas

22. Criminal Law in the Federal Context
Mark Carter

23. The Environment and Federalism (in Context)
Dayna Scott

24. Constitutional Aspects of Commercial Law
Anita Anand

25. The Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Federation
Luanne Walton

26. Minority Languages, Education and the Constitution
Linda Cardinal & Pierre Foucher

27. Marriage, Family and Federal Concerns
Robert Leckey and Carol Rogerson

28. International Treaty-Making and Treaty Implementation
Hugo Cyr & Armand de Mestral


Part V -- Rights and Freedoms

Litigating and Interpreting the Charter

29. Interpreting the Charter
Joanna Harrington

30. Access to Charter Justice
Carissima Mathen

31. The Justification of Rights Violations: Section 1 of the Charter
Charles-Maxime Panaccio

32. Charter Remedies
Kent Roach

33. The Notwithstanding Clause: Why Non-Use does not Necessarily Equate with Abiding by Judicial Norms
Janet Hiebert

Rights and Freedoms under the Charter

34. Democratic Rights
Yasmin Dawood

35. The Right to Protest, Freedom of Expression, and Freedom of Association
Jamie Cameron & Nathalie Des Rosiers

36. Freedom of Religion
Benjamin Berger

37. The Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person
Margot Young

38. The Charter and the Criminal Law
Don Stuart

39. Equality and Anti-discrimination: The relationship between government goals and finding discrimination in section 15
Sonia Lawrence

40. Social and Economic Rights in Canada
Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter

Part VI - Constitutional Theory

Constitutional Interpretation

41. Constitutional Interpretation: On Issues of Ontology and of Interlegality
Stéphane Beaulac

42. The Living Tree
Will Walachow

Constitutional Pluralism

43. Canadian Constitutional Culture: A Genealogical Account
David Schneiderman

Key Debates in Constitutional Theory

44. The Role of Theory in Canadian Constitutional Law
Timothy Endicott & Peter Oliver

45. Feminist Constitutionalism in Canada
Beverley Baines & Ruth Rubio-Marin

46. The Politics of Constitutional Law: A Critical Approach
Allan Hutchinson


The Role of Constitutional Principles in Canadian Constitutional Law

47. Constitutional Principles in the Secession Reference
Jean Leclair

48. The Rule of Law, the Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence in Canada
Warren Newman

Dialogue Theory and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

49. Understanding Dialogue Theory
Ravi Amarnath & Peter Hogg

The Canadian Constitution in a Comparative Law Perspective

50. The Canadian Constitution and the World
Sujit Choudhry

Table of Cases

Index