Canadian Constitutional Conventions

This study provides the first comprehensive text offering insight into the nature of the conventional rules that work in the Canadian constitution. Heard deals with the principal conventions governing prerogative powers of the crown, cabinet decision making and administrative behavior, parliament and provincial legislatures, federalism and federal provincial relations, the judiciary, and foreign relations.

Excerpt from The Constitution of Canada: An Introduction to Its Development and Law Any historical work which attempts to traverse the whole period of a nation's life, even if it be that of a young nation like Canada, must be either an outline of events or a study of development. In this work I have essayed the latter of these, endeavouring to present to my readers neither a description nor an analysis of the political institutions of Canada, but rather an evolutionary account of the various movements and stages which have issued into the organized political life of the Canada of to-day. Canada as a political unity has a distinctive, to some it may seem an anomalous, character. It is well worth studying, both as a recent example of the process of nation-making and as a most significant illustration of that real and yet not absolute sovereignty which defies the older theories of government and thereby leads us to a truer conception of the state. I have sought to unite these two aspects in this work. To understand the former it is necessary to keep the social background always in view, to show how, under the special conditions of a new land, the conjuncture of groups detached from older countries, particularly England and France, the insistent near influence of a great neighbouring country already ahead in economic development, and the later influx of more heterogeneous elements from many lands, with all the meeting and clash of traditions which this implied, have worked in the end to a certain unity and a sure nationhood. To understand the latter it is necessary to observe how the evolution of Canadian government has constituted a decisive challenge to the absolute Austinian doctrine of sovereignty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A fully updated edition of the first-ever primer on Canada’s Constitution — for anyone who wants to understand the supreme law of the land. The Canadian Constitution makes Canada’s Constitution readily accessible to readers. It includes the complete text of the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982, accompanied by an explanation of what each section means, along with a glossary of key terms, a short history of the Constitution, and a timeline of important constitutional events. The Canadian Constitution explains how the Supreme Court of Canada works and describes the people and issues involved in leading constitutional cases. Author Adam Dodek, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, provides the only index to the Canadian Constitution, as well as fascinating background on the Supreme Court and the Constitution. This new edition is a great primer for those reading Canada’s Constitution for the first time and is a useful reference work for students and scholars.

Stephen Harper's Conservative government has reversed the trend of its predecessors by giving the Crown a higher profile through royal tours, publications, and symbolic initiatives. Based on papers given at a Diamond Jubilee conference on the Crown held in Regina in 2012, Canada and the Crown assesses the historical and contemporary importance of constitutional monarchy in Canada. Established and emerging scholars consider the Canadian Crown from a variety of viewpoints, including the ways in which the monarch relates to Quebec, First Nations, the media, education, Parliament, the constitution, and the military. They also consider a republican option for Canada. Editors D. Michael Jackson and Philippe Lagassé provide context for the essays, summarize and expand on the issues discussed by the contributors, and offer a perspective on further study of the Crown in Canada. Contributors include Richard Berthelsen, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Bolt (Office of the Judge Advocate General), James W.J. Bowden, Stephanie Danyluk (Whitecap-Dakota First Nation), Linda Cardinal (University of Ottawa), Phillip Crawley (CEO, The Globe and Mail), John Fraser (Massey College), Carolyn Harris (University of Toronto), Robert E. Hawkins (University of Regina), Ian Holloway (University of Calgary), Senator Serge Joyal, Nicholas A. MacDonald, Christopher McCreery (Office of Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia), J.R. (Jim) Miller (University of Saskatchewan), Peter H. Russell (University of Toronto), David E. Smith (Toronto Metropolitan University), and John D. Whyte (University of Regina).