Litigating pan-Canadianism: the constitutional litigation strategy of the Canadian federal government in charter cases, 1982-1993
Year: 1996
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This is a study of the Federal government's attempts to influence the policy effects of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms through its legal arguments before the Supreme Court of Canada.Canadian governments may be understood as "repeat players" who strategically intervene to elicit judicial rulings that protect their constitutional interests.Ho's 1995 study found that provincial governments pursued Charter litigation strategies that complemented their support (opposition) to the Charter in formal constitutional negotiations.This analysis of the Attorney General of Canada's factums in twenty-nine cases between 1982 and 1993 demonstrates that Ottawa encouraged judicial activism in language rights cases, but urged judicial self-restraint in other areas.The Mulroney government's support in court for expanding the power of the courts over provincial language policy contradicted its Meech Lake and Charlottetown strategies.The Trudeau government's weak support for the other sections of the Charter contradicts his reputation as a libertarian and partisan of judicial power.
DOI: 10.11575/prism/23533
Author: Hennigar, Matthew Aaron
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6884644468