Suchergebnisse

In the Supreme Court Act Reference, the Court advised that the appointment of its newest judge, Marc Nadon, was void ab initio. It concluded, as well, that the Court is an entrenched constitutional actor, whose governing statutes may be changed only through formal amendment. By any measure, the Reference was an exceptional constitutional moment. This article reviews what made it so, focussing on the case's history, procedure, substance and public reception. The article situates the proceeding within a "perfect storm" of law and politics. It describes various dilemmas that the Court had to confront. And it offers three reasons explaining why the reaction to the Reference was unusually negative.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states as a general interpretative principle that its rights and freedoms must be applied so as to preserve and maintain the multicultural heritage of Canadians. This principle stands with other broad ideals of our political community — such as pluralism, mutual respect and human dignity — which constitute important aspects of our legal culture. Any society that seeks to be diverse yet bound by common values will face deep challenges, as conflicts emerge over the meaning of "a good life". at times, such controversies can appear to raise existential issues for the society in question. In this paper I explore one such controversy: what to do about the offence of polygamy. In 2011, in an unprecedented court proceeding, the British Columbia Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of section 293 of the Criminal Code, which penalizes all forms of polygamous unions. In an advisory opinion the Supreme Court concluded that in all but one respect the provision does not violate the Charter's fundamental freedom of religion, or the principles of fundamental justice. In the brief confines of this paper, I interrogate the opinion as a false recounting of cross-cultural clash. The polygamy debate reveals another aspect of cultural contestation, not between cultures but within the same one — over the role of criminal law, our view of each other and our commitment to the Charter's underlying ideals.