The Canadian Constitution of 1867 as written should have provided the authoritative guide to the law governing the division of powers between the national and provincial governments of Canada, but by the 1940s the federal constitution was a very different document to that composed originally by John A. Macdonald and his colleagues. In this engaging and exhaustive examination of the critical role of the courts - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of Canada - in shaping Canadian federalism, John Saywell argues that the courts always have and still do 'make law' - law that can be largely subjective and often bears little relationship to the text or purposes of the Constitution.
Saywell begins his analysis by offering new evidence and insights on the structure of the 1867 constitution. Relying heavily on the voices of the actors themselves, his analysis moves beyond a simple examination of previously published reports and examines oral arguments before the Judicial Committee, largely from manuscripts, to determine how the Committee interacted with counsel, developed their arguments, and came to their conclusions. Critical of the jurisprudence of the Judicial Committee, which he argues virtually eliminated some of the critical legislative powers of the federal government and destroyed its capacity to act on the economic and social problems of the twentieth century, Saywell credits the Supreme Court with restoring the balance in the federation and strengthening the national government. Comprehensive, ambitious, and detailed, The Lawmakers will be the definitive work on the evolution of the law of Canadian federalism.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 347.71/012
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 21
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 9781442681613 0802037518
- LCCN
- KE4248
- LCCN Item number
- S29 2002eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xx, 453 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00602066 (OCoLC)431560684 (CaOOCEL)418475
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- CONTENTS 8
- FOREWORD 10
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 12
- INTRODUCTION 16
- 1 The Genesis of Sections 91 and 92,1864–1867 24
- 2 Made in Canada: The Provincial Courts, 1867–1881 38
- 3 Made in Canada: The Supreme Court of Canada, 1875–1881 53
- 4 The Appeal to Caesar 78
- 5 Caesar Speaks, 1874–1888 99
- 6 The Watson Era, 1889–1912 135
- 7 Viscount Haldane, 1911–1928 171
- 8 Lord Sankey and 'Progressive Constructionism,' 1929–1935 208
- 9 The New Deal at Court and the End of Appeals 224
- 10 Restoring the Balance: The Supreme Court of Canada, 1949–1979 259
- 11 Consolidation and Innovation, 1980–2000 295
- Afterword 329
- APPENDIX: BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1867 (Relevant Sections) 332
- NOTES 340
- INDEX 458
- A 458
- B 459
- C 460
- D 461
- E 462
- F 462
- G 463
- H 463
- I 464
- J 465
- K 466
- L 466
- M 467
- N 468
- O 468
- P 469
- Q 469
- R 469
- S 470
- T 473
- U 473
- V 473
- W 473
- Z 474
