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Political Science Canadian

Legislating under the Charter

Parliament, Executive Power, and Rights

by (author) Emmett Macfarlane, Janet Hiebert & Anna Drake

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2023
Category
Canadian, Constitutional, Social Policy
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781487552442
    Publish Date
    Apr 2023
    List Price
    $95.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781487554538
    Publish Date
    Apr 2023
    List Price
    $39.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781487558178
    Publish Date
    Mar 2023
    List Price
    $39.95

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Description

Legislating under the Charter 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. The authors draw from a host of qualitative data, including research interviews and examination of judicial decisions, various bills under study, Hansard debates from the floor of the House of Commons, committee and Senate scrutiny of legislation, bureaucratic advice and Charter statements by the department of justice, and news media coverage.

 

The book offers a set of concrete reform proposals to improve the transparency and accountability of executive and bureaucratic vetting processes, and to strengthen the role of Parliament in upholding constitutional values and holding the government to account. In doing so, Legislating under the Charter contributes to the broader comparative scholarship on models of judicial review, morality policy, policy change, and constitutionalism.

About the authors

Emmett Macfarlane is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Waterloo. He is a regular contributor to Maclean's, the Globe and Mail, and the Institute for Research on Public Policy's Policy Options.

Emmett Macfarlane's profile page

Janet L. Hiebert is a professor emeritus of political studies at Queen’s University.

Janet Hiebert's profile page

Anna Drake is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Waterloo.

Anna Drake's profile page