Tag: Quebec
-
“Constituent Power” and Referendums in Quebec: Instrumentalizing Sieyès?
—Maxime St-Hilaire, Université de Sherbrooke In Quebec nationalist constitutional thinking, the holding of a referendum is sometimes explicitly connected with the (somewhat fashionably) internationally revived idea of “pouvoir constituant”. Beyond proposals for referendums on secession or on the ratification of the constitution of an independent Quebec, there are now calls for holding a referendum on…
-
I-CONnect Symposium: The Independence Vote in Catalonia–Sovereignty Referendums: Constitutionalism in Crisis?
[Editor’s Note: This is the fourth entry in our symposium on Sunday’s independence vote in Catalonia. We are grateful to our convener, Professor Zoran Oklopcic, for assembling an outstanding group of scholars to bring our readers helpful context and analysis during this important moment for the region.
-
Invitation to Friends of I-CONnect: Symposium on “Does Québec Need a Written Constitution?”
—Richard Albert, Boston College Law School Friends of I-CONnect are invited to attend a full-day symposium on “Does Québec Need a Written Constitution,” on Thursday, March 31, at Yale University. The program is structured around three panels and a keynote address by former Québec premier Jean Charest, whose cabinet considered codifying a constitution for the province.
-
Thresholds for Interpretation and Secession
—Adam Perry, Lecturer in Law, Queen Mary University of London Three of my favourite topics are statutory interpretation, Prince Charles, and Canadian electoral politics. I never thought these topics were all that closely related. Happily, I was wrong. For years Prince Charles has been writing letters to government ministers on everything from natural medicine to agricultural…
-
Taking Aim at Cooperative Federalism: The Long-Gun Registry Decision by the Supreme Court of Canada
—Johanne Poirier[*], Université libre de Bruxelles On March 27, 2015, a highly divided Supreme Court of Canada rendered a momentous ruling which reveals a severe divergence on the nature of Canadian contemporary federalism.[1] The tight 5 to 4 decision also underlines a different conception of the role of the judicial branch regarding the defence and promotion…
-
Cooperative Federalism Divides the Supreme Court of Canada: Quebec (Attorney General) v. Canada (Attorney General)
—Paul Daly, University of Montreal, Faculty of Law On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada brought to an end the lengthy saga of Canada’s long-gun registry. There was a sharp split on the Court, with a bare majority of five justices giving a narrow win to the federal government over the joint dissent of their three…
-
Constitutionalizing Canada’s Supreme Court
—Robert Leckey, McGill University A dispute over the legality of a politically questionable judicial appointment has resulted in what pundits call a stinging defeat for Canada’s prime minister and a bold assertion by the Supreme Court of Canada of its independence and constitutional status.