If dialogue theory is nothing more than a thin cover for judicial supremacy, than how should Canada model the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary? The answer lies in coordinate interpretation. Coordinate interpretation envisions that every branch that interacts with the Charter (the judiciary, the executive, and the legislative) will have equal responsibilities in upholding and advancing the values in the Charter (Slattery, 1987, 707). Under coordinate interpretation, the executive and the legislative branches would have “first order” duties, which means they would be expected to scrutinize legislation that they intend to pass in order to ensure Charter compliance; likewise, they also have a duty to scrutinize legislation …show more content…
For example, in the case of Reference re Manitoba Language Rights the Court stated that the Manitoba Act established certain Constitutional duties that the legislature was responsible for upholding (1985). A more concrete example comes from the two cases of O’Connor and Mills. In the O’Connor case the Court dealt with the release of medical records in sexual assault cases, the Court split five to four over how stringent the requirements surrounding introducing victim medical records into court should be (1995). In authoring a legislative response, the legislature choose to base their response not off the majority opinion, but off the strong dissent authored by justice L’Heureux-Dube (Baker, 2010, 22). The legislature’s response, Bill C-46, was challenged in the Mills case; remarkably the Court upheld the Bill C-46 in a 7-1 decision (1999). The Court even stated that “the courts do not hold a monopoly on the protection and promotion of rights and freedoms (R. v. Mills, 1999, para. 3).” Although this should not be taken as a full endorsement of coordinate interpretation, the Court’s decision in Mills shows that the idea of coordinate interpretation is not alien to the Canadian judiciary, and that it is capable of seeing the legislature as having its own valid interpretation of the …show more content…
Cameron argued in his case commentary on Mills that the Court’s decision to recognize the legislature’s interpretation of the Charter would have a “destabilizing effect on precedent and protection of rights (2001, 1068).” The idea that coordinate interpretation leads to destabilization is a common critique. For example, Hogg also argues that if the judiciary is not given final authority over Charter interpretation then there is a risk of “interpretive anarchy (Hogg and Bushell, et. al, 2007, 31). These claims of anarchy are misplaced; Baker notes that critics of coordinate interpretation act as if the only choice is between rigid judicial supremacy and anarchy, a position that ignores the fact that several other common law countries (Australia, New Zealand, and the UK) also maintain Constitutions without the rigid judicial supremacy that characterizes the Canadian system (Baker, 2010,
The text also alluded to previous court cases, such as Marshall vs. Court and the National Back, where Congress was declared to having unconstitutional implementations, that were based on a loose structure. Summary Context and Point of View The Court had
In order to uphold the constitution, the Supreme Court must always aim to balance power among the branches of government and not overstep boundaries in exercising its own power. For this reason, the debate over handling political questions in the courtroom
Briefly describe the TWO different roles that courts play in Canada. The two different roles of Canadian courts are to make decisions on disputes and appeals or judicial review. The function of the court systems it to uphold the rule of law, resolve disputes, and test and enforce the laws in a fair and rational way. The court needs to be independent from the other aspects of the government, otherwise the decision can be influenced by the government and not based solely on the law and fact.
During his period in his office, he unionized many workers through the passing of the Trade Unions Act (1985), increased old age pensions and welfare benefits, and introduced the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights Act (1947) that affirms many of the fundamental human rights that is now reflected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) (“Tommy Douglas Achievements”). Clearly, Douglas fought for equality in the working class by securing rights that previously only the elites enjoyed. Likewise, Locke theory revolves around the idea that everyone was born equal and that the entire point of government was to protect humankind’s natural laws; this can easily apply to Douglas’ accomplishments in politics. It is evident that Douglas put the needs of the people first, advocating for civil liberties and beneficial programs that preserve the natural laws of freedom and a good life for everyone. All in all, Tommy Douglas clearly reflects Locke’s legal theory on a government’s role through his benevolent
These are seen in the lessons that appear to be prevalent from the conference, on the importance of topics such as constitutional reform, federal-provincial relations, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and public opinion and political leadership in our country's politics. Each of these topics show themselves in our everyday lives, such as fights and debates over our rights as citizens on topics such as our education, as seen in issues like Doug Ford cutting funding in Ontario, or the debates on the rights of Indigenous peoples that have been happening for decades. “The Charter protects those basic rights and freedoms of all Canadians that are considered essential to preserving Canada as a free and democratic country.” The rights protected under the charter are our everyday rights, the ones that, in a perfect world, wouldn't need to be written down. Knowing now how this charter came to be shows the importance of the effect that patriation has left on our country.
Canada’s constitution was created on, July 1, 1867, which established Canada’s bicameral parliamentary system consisting of the House of Commons and the Senate. The Founding Fathers of Confederation created the Senate as a complimentary chamber to the House of Commons, where its most important functions are to review legislation and act as a forum where the voices of the province’s regional interests can be heard. Sir John A. Macdonald made an interesting point that the Senate must never set itself in opposition against the understood wishes of the people (Forsey 2015). This statement by Sir John A. Macdonald is thought provoking because the Senate has faced controversy over whether its appointment process is affecting the Senate’s function
Sophie Byrne John Ward POLI 100 29 March 2023 Two Week Essay Assignment Week 10 & 11 In "The Core of the Case Against Judicial Review," published in the Yale Law Journal, Jeremy Waldron argues against the concept of judicial review, which is a concept allowing courts to strike down laws that are deemed unconstitutional. Waldron argues that this concept undermines democracy and should be replaced by a system of parliamentary sovereignty; where the legislative branch holds the power to determine the final outcome when interpreting the constitution.
However, the new trend has been to make the document mean what you want or to just disregard it and issue new laws. The modern view is that “the Constitution is what the judges say it is (p.30)”. Sutherland throughout the book that this is assumption not correct, because if this were true, than the final authority would rest with the judges, not with the people. This line of thinking is dangerous, as it makes those tasked with interpreting the Constitution essentially able to edit it to say whatever they want, regardless of what the document actually says on a matter. With the judges making wild rulings about freedoms and laws, they are undermining and assuming the duties of Congress, something they are clearly prohibited from
The Canadian political system is based entirely on democracy. As a democracy it has the duty “to protect itself against the forces of dissolution as soon as they [appear]” (Pierre Trudeau 133). Few people would disagree with the government’s decision to invoke the act. Surely because of the apprehension, almost everybody in the nation was feeling during the violent insurrection in Quebec. Resulting from “seven years of terrorist assaults in Montreal and Ottawa” (130) in which “resulted in six deaths” (Eric Kierans 181).
The negative sides of the charter are another idea that was taken away from the reading of the article, it is stated that there is an inequality with peoples access to courts and that
The constrained court views and understands the limitations to creating social change have been constitutionally
Prior to the reading of both essays of Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and Attorney General Edwin Meese my personal opinion was to interpret the constitution as best fitting for the current situation, whatever that may be. Post reading that opinion that I held changed. After reading these essays I realized that it is more important to stick as closely to what the framers of the constitution meant as possible. As stated in Meese’s essay, “Any true approach to constitutional interpretation must respect the document in all its parts and be faithful to the Constitution in its entirety.
4)Robert J. Sharpe, Patricia I. McMahon Persons Case: The Origins and Legacy of the Fight for Legal Personhood. Toronto: Univ of Toronto Press, 2007, 1-206 5) Michael Dorland and Maurice René. Charland, Law, rhetoric and irony in the formation of Canadian civil culture (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002), 218. 6) Vivien Hughes.
Before the Charter, many people may argue that Canada was a free and democratic country. Canadians had the freedom of expression, equality and the principles of fundamental justice. What changed with the creation of the Charter was that rights and freedoms were given constitutional status, and judges were given the power to strike down laws that infringed on them. In 1982, most Canadians agreed that the introduction of the Charter was going to monumental. But on the contrary, over 30 years later, numerous laws have been struck down by interpretation of the charter and remedial techniques that have been developed by courts.
In all areas of law reasonableness tends to play a fundamental role including reasonably foreseeability, the reasonable man, beyond reasonable doubt and reasonable force to name a few. The concept of reasonableness in public decision making is no different and has developed, expanded and retracted in various jurisdictions over the past century. In public decision making, reasonableness particularly relates to judicial review, and the actions, events or otherwise which lead a public body to arrive at a particular decision rather the decision itself. It is of great importance that reasonableness is applied to public bodies in order to control the exercise of power and to prevent arbitrary and unfair decisions. In this essay, we will examine