Full Description
Rewriting the Canadian Constitution imagines how Canada's Constitution could be rethought and reshaped through amendment. Assuming that broad constitutional change is possible, this volume brings together leading scholars from law, political science, and philosophy to examine four key areas of reform: the federal-provincial division of powers, democratic institutions, the unwritten constitution, and the rules of amendment themselves.
The resulting contributions are rigorous, creative, and critical. They develop innovative models of shared jurisdiction, propose ways to strengthen democratic accountability, assess deficits in representation and participation - particularly for Indigenous peoples, evaluate reforms of existing procedures, and much more.
Taken together, the collection advances a form of constitutional possibilism: a commitment to imagining what Canada's Constitution could become. Reflecting a diverse set of methodological, theoretical, and disciplinary perspectives, the essays highlight gaps and tensions in Canada's current constitutional framework while offering concrete, hopeful visions for reform.
Rewriting the Canadian Constitution will engage students, scholars, lawyers, judges, advocates, and policymakers alike. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the past, present, or future of the Canadian Constitution.
Contents
Introduction: Why Rewrite?
Kate Glover Berger, Michael Pal, Wade Wright, and Richard Albert
Part One: Proposals (and Prospects) for a New Division of Powers
Chapter One: Reimagining Cooperative Federalism
Noura Karazivan
Chapter Two: Dividing Paramountcy, Not Jurisdiction: Two Proposals for a Rewritten Division of Powers for Canada
Wade Wright
Chapter Three: Reimagining Judicial Federalism
Erin F. Delaney
Chapter Four: Canadian Federalism: Is a Constitutional Fix Needed?
John Ferejohn
Part Two: The Democratic Constitution
Chapter Five: Reconciliation and Political Representation
Michael Pal
Chapter Six: An Equation Totaling Economic Rights: Section 35, Historical Research, and Modern Sustainability
Signa A. Daum Shanks
Chapter Seven: The Democratic Constitution
Sonia Lawrence
Part Three: Writing the Unwritten Constitution
Chapter Eight: The Constitutional Status of the Administrative State
Kate Glover Berger
Chapter Nine: Breathing Life into our Living Tree and Strengthening our Constitutional Roots: The Promise of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act
Naomi S. Walqwan Metallic
Chapter Ten: "Time to Wake Up from Constitutional Fatigue and Revisit Indigenous Rights"
David Milward
Chapter Eleven: What Asymmetry for Canadian Federalism?
Daniel Weinstock
Chapter Twelve: Our Romantic Constitution
Benjamin L. Berger
Part Four: The (Im)Possibility of Constitutional Amendment
Chapter Thirteen: Addressing the Practice of Informal Constitutional Reform during Periods of Amending Formula Avoidance: A Modest Proposal for Transparency
Erin Crandall
Chapter Fourteen: The Twin Afflictions of Canada's Constitutional Amending Formula: A Prescription
Emmett Macfarlane
Chapter Fifteen: Single-Subject Constitutional Amendments
Richard Albert
Chapter Sixteen: Constitutional Possibilism: How to Amend an (Un-)Amendable Constitution
Jamie Cameron
