DOCSLIB.ORG

Poverty Law and Society Series W

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Poverty Law and Society Series W Poverty Law and Society Series W. Wesley Pue, General Editor The Law and Society Series explores law as a socially embedded phenom- enon. It is premised on the understanding that the conventional division of law from society creates false dichotomies in thinking, scholarship, educational practice, and social life. Books in the series treat law and society as mutually constitutive and seek to bridge scholarship emerging from interdisciplinary engagement of law with disciplines such as politics, social theory, history, political economy, and gender studies. A list of the titles in this series is available at http://www.ubcpress.ca/books/ series_law.html Edited by Margot Young, Susan B. Boyd, Gwen Brodsky, and Shelagh Day Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, and Legal Activism © UBC Press 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher, or, in Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), www.accesscopyright.ca. 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in Canada on ancient-forest-free paper (100% post-consumer recycled) that is processed chlorine- and acid-free, with vegetable-based inks. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Poverty : rights, social citizenship, and legal activism / edited by Margot Young [et al.]. (Law and Society, ISSN 1496-4953) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7748-1287-0 1. Public welfare – Law and legislation – Canada. 2. Poverty – Canada. 3. Social rights – Canada. 4. Human rights – Canada. 5. Canada. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I. Young, Margot II. Series: Law and society series (Vancouver, B.C.) KE4382.P69 2007 344.7103’25 C2007-901664-2 UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for our publishing program of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and with the help of the K.D. Srivastava Fund. UBC Press The University of British Columbia 2029 West Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 604-822-5959 / Fax: 604-822-6083 www.ubcpress.ca To Louise Gosselin, in admiration and appreciation Contents Preface / ix Introduction / 1 Margot Young Part 1: Reading Gosselin 1 Reality Checks: Presuming Innocence and Proving Guilt in Charter Welfare Cases / 23 Martha Jackman 2 But It’s for Your Own Good / 40 Dianne Pothier 3 Social Rights and “Common Sense”: Gosselin through a Media Lens / 57 David Schneiderman Part 2: Social Citizenship and the State 4 Claiming Adjudicative Space: Social Rights, Equality, and Citizenship / 77 Bruce Porter 5 Aboriginal Women Unmasked: Using Equality Litigation to Advance Women’s Rights / 96 Sharon Donna McIvor 6 Welfare Reform and the Re-Making of the Model Citizen / 119 Janet E. Mosher 7 The “Made in Québec” Act to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion: The Complex Relationship between Poverty and Human Rights / 139 Lucie Lamarche 8 Accounting for Rights and Money in the Canadian Social Union / 162 Barbara Cameron viii Contents Part 3: Social Citizenship and International Contexts 9 Collective Economic Rights and International Trade Agreements: In the Vacuum of Post-National Capital Control / 183 Marjorie Griffin Cohen 10 Minding the Gap: Human Rights Commitments and Compliance / 201 Shelagh Day 11 Enforcing Social and Economic Rights at the Domestic Level: A Proposal / 221 Gráinne McKeever and Fionnuala Ni Aoláin 12 Litigating Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa: How Far Will the Courts Go? / 240 Karrisha Pillay Part 4: Legal Theory after Gosselin 13 Taking Competence Seriously / 263 David Wiseman 14 Dignity, Equality, and Second Generation Rights / 281 Denise G. Réaume 15 The Charter as an Impediment to Welfare Rollbacks: A Meditation on “Justice as Fairness” as a “Bedrock Value” of the Canadian Democratic Project / 297 Ken Norman Part 5: Legal Activism Revived 16 Why Rights Now? Law and Desperation / 317 Margot Young 17 The Challenge of Litigating the Rights of Poor People: The Right to Legal Aid as a Test Case / 337 Melina Buckley 18 The Subversion of Human Rights by Governments in Canada / 355 Gwen Brodsky Contributors / 373 Index / 377 Preface Increasingly, Canadians are framing their concerns about poverty – includ- ing access to food, housing, health, education, social assistance, and decent employment – as issues of human rights. Perhaps not surprisingly, a human rights-based approach to understanding and combating poverty is gaining purchase at the same time that governments are eroding social programs, embracing neo-liberal ideas of self-reliance and private responsibility, and reducing opportunities for democratic political engagement about social policy issues. Although, historically, poverty has been thought of as a matter to be dealt with privately, through charity or the family, during important decades in Canada, principally between the 1950s and the 1980s, protection from pov- erty was also regarded as a critical subject matter for legislation and redis- tributive measures. Lately, however, governments have been allowing poverty to disappear from the social policy agenda, apparently content to permit poverty and extreme disparities in income and wealth to flourish. These legislative and policy choices are at odds with a human rights framework that treats freedom from want as a fundamental interest of every human being and a precondition for genuine democracy. The diverse contributors to this book think about human rights – statu- tory, constitutional, and treaty rights – not only as legal instruments that can be used as a basis for adjudication in a court of law but also as articula- tions of fundamental values and as understandings of what it means to be a “citizen” in a democratic society. The idea that all human beings are equal in worth is the foundation of the rule of law and of democracy, positing that every person is entitled to be treated with equal concern and respect by governments and to have an equal voice in political decision making. The poverty and economic inequality of some, disproportionately of those who are already disadvantaged because of their female sex, non-white race, or disability, stands in marked contrast to these commitments to equality. x Preface A Colloquium on Social and Economic Rights was convened by the Pov- erty and Human Rights Centre and held in Vancouver on 16-17 May 2003. The centre brought together twenty scholars and legal advocates to discuss social and economic rights in Canada, Ireland, and South Africa. The en- gaged dialogue that this conference generated provided the catalyst for this volume and its treatment of poverty as an issue of human rights and de- mocracy. This collection includes some of the papers – albeit all signifi- cantly reworked – from that conference, along with chapters contributed by other authors not part of the original gathering. The colloquium and the publication of this book were supported through a major grant from the Law Foundation of British Columbia. The develop- ment of the book was also fortunate to receive additional support from the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies in the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia and from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through a Community University Research Alliance grant to the Social Rights Accountability Project. Three of the editors – Margot Young, Shelagh Day, and Gwen Brodsky – and five other writers in the volume – Barbara Cameron, Martha Jackman, Lucie Lamarche, Bruce Porter, and David Wiseman – are participants in this project, the objective of which is to ex- amine the mechanisms available for holding governments accountable for their commitments to social and economic rights. Given the widening interest among non-governmental organizations and legal advocates in the use of human rights instruments to influence govern- ments’ decisions about poverty and the redistribution of wealth, it seemed important to document some of these efforts and to examine the obstacles encountered. We hope that the passion, intelligence, and thoughtfulness of the writing collected in this book will encourage and support efforts to end poverty. We wish to thank Kristine All, Angela Cameron, Kathy Grant, Kat Kinch, Shauna Labman, Lisa Phillips, Amber Prince, Joanna Roberts, Sally Rudolf, and Anila Srivastava – all invaluable research and editorial assistants. Thanks are also due to Randy Schmidt for shepherding us through the initial sub- mission process and to Darcy Cullen for her gratefully received editorial assistance. Introduction Margot Young This volume comes at a timely moment. Recent years have seen the re- trenchment of Canadian social programs and the restructuring of the Can- adian post-war welfare state along neo-liberal lines. The public agenda, which has never adequately engaged with questions of guaranteeing human well- being for all people in Canada, has now turned away from many of the most pressing issues of social and economic justice. Social programs at both the federal and provincial levels have been cut back, eliminated,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Louise Arbour and Marie Henein Share Their Personal Reflections on Unconscious Bias in Litigation December 9, 2020
    Louise Arbour and Marie Henein Share Their Personal Reflections on Unconscious Bias in Litigation December 9, 2020 In this transformative age when actions against unconscious bias and social injustice have swiftly gathered momentum, two legal phenoms engage in an enlightening Q & A on what this means for us as people, as a profession, and as propellers for change. Hear Louise Arbour and Marie Henein tell us how they have approached unconscious bias and how to combat it. Topics will include the following: • personal experiences with power, privilege and unconscious bias • how to prevent bias and discrimination in workplaces • bias, discrimination and underrepresentation as viewed through a judicial lens • why the existence and consequences of unconscious bias are important to the bench and bar. Speakers The Honourable Louise Arbour, C.C., G.O.Q., Senior Counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP The Honourable Louise Arbour is Senior Counsel and jurist in residence at BLG in Montreal. She provides strategic advice on litigation, governance and international disputes. She is an active mentor of younger lawyers. She recently completed her mandate at the UN as Special Representative of the Secretary- General on International Migration, which led to the adoption of the Global Compact for Migration. She has also held other senior positions at the United Nations, including High Commissioner for Human Rights (2004-2008) and Chief Prosecutor for The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda (1996 to 1999). She formerly sat as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1999 to 2004, on the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Ontario.
    [Show full text]
  • The Social Context Education Project (SCEP) Was a Special Project of the National Judicial Institute Between 1996-2003
    NATIONAL JUDICIAL INSTITUTE, CANADA THE SOCIAL CONTEXT EDUCATION PROJECT SUMMARY The Social Context Education Project (SCEP) was a special project of the National Judicial Institute between 1996-2003. The program had two phases: • Phase I concentrated on full-court education seminars in every province of Canada. These seminars were designed to create a common base of information and understanding of the relevance and applicability of social context among all judges in Canada. Over 20 programs were held involving over 1000 judges. • Phase II focused on developed skilled judicial education leaders in this area through an intensive program of judicial faculty development. Curriculum development was another focus of Phase II. Since 2003, social context has been integrated as a regular component of NJI work through adoption of the guiding principle that judicial education should always be ‘three dimensional’ (substantive law, skills development and social context awareness) and designation of a member of the senior management team responsible for social context integration. The Social Context Education Program: • Built on work initiated in Canada by the Western Judicial Education Centre • Was mandated by the Canadian Judicial Council and supported by Chief Judges. • Built from the premise that understanding social context and integrating it into judicial processes and judicial decision-making is mandated by law. • Was developed in synergy with jurisprudential developments explicitly recognizing the legitimacy of contextual inquiry in judicial decision-making. • Has proceeded on the basis that social context education is a long-term process not an inoculation. The long-term goal is integration of social context into all forms of judicial education as an automatic part of the landscape.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report
    COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS ANNUAL REPORT July 1,1996-June 30,1997 Main Office Washington Office The Harold Pratt House 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. 58 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10021 Washington, DC 20036 Tel. (212) 434-9400; Fax (212) 861-1789 Tel. (202) 518-3400; Fax (202) 986-2984 Website www. foreignrela tions. org e-mail publicaffairs@email. cfr. org OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, 1997-98 Officers Directors Charlayne Hunter-Gault Peter G. Peterson Term Expiring 1998 Frank Savage* Chairman of the Board Peggy Dulany Laura D'Andrea Tyson Maurice R. Greenberg Robert F Erburu Leslie H. Gelb Vice Chairman Karen Elliott House ex officio Leslie H. Gelb Joshua Lederberg President Vincent A. Mai Honorary Officers Michael P Peters Garrick Utley and Directors Emeriti Senior Vice President Term Expiring 1999 Douglas Dillon and Chief Operating Officer Carla A. Hills Caryl R Haskins Alton Frye Robert D. Hormats Grayson Kirk Senior Vice President William J. McDonough Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. Paula J. Dobriansky Theodore C. Sorensen James A. Perkins Vice President, Washington Program George Soros David Rockefeller Gary C. Hufbauer Paul A. Volcker Honorary Chairman Vice President, Director of Studies Robert A. Scalapino Term Expiring 2000 David Kellogg Cyrus R. Vance Jessica R Einhorn Vice President, Communications Glenn E. Watts and Corporate Affairs Louis V Gerstner, Jr. Abraham F. Lowenthal Hanna Holborn Gray Vice President and Maurice R. Greenberg Deputy National Director George J. Mitchell Janice L. Murray Warren B. Rudman Vice President and Treasurer Term Expiring 2001 Karen M. Sughrue Lee Cullum Vice President, Programs Mario L. Baeza and Media Projects Thomas R.
    [Show full text]
  • Carissima Mathen*
    C h o ic es a n d C o n t r o v e r sy : J udic ia l A ppointments in C a n a d a Carissima Mathen* P a r t I What do judges do? As an empirical matter, judges settle disputes. They act as a check on both the executive and legislative branches. They vindicate human rights and civil liberties. They arbitrate jurisdictional conflicts. They disagree. They bicker. They change their minds. In a normative sense, what judges “do” depends very much on one’s views of judging. If one thinks that judging is properly confined to the law’s “four comers”, then judges act as neutral, passive recipients of opinions and arguments about that law.1 They consider arguments, examine text, and render decisions that best honour the law that has been made. If judging also involves analysis of a society’s core (if implicit) political agreements—and the degree to which state laws or actions honour those agreements—then judges are critical players in the mechanisms through which such agreement is tested. In post-war Canada, the judiciary clearly has taken on the second role as well as the first. Year after year, judges are drawn into disputes over the very values of our society, a trend that shows no signs of abating.2 In view of judges’ continuing power, and the lack of political appetite to increase control over them (at least in Canada), it is natural that attention has turned to the process by which persons are nominated and ultimately appointed to the bench.
    [Show full text]
  • Reforming the Supreme Court Appointment Process, 2004-2014: a 10-Year Democratic Audit 2014 Canliidocs 33319 Adam M
    The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference Volume 67 (2014) Article 4 Reforming the Supreme Court Appointment Process, 2004-2014: A 10-Year Democratic Audit 2014 CanLIIDocs 33319 Adam M. Dodek Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Citation Information Dodek, Adam M.. "Reforming the Supreme Court Appointment Process, 2004-2014: A 10-Year Democratic Audit." The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference 67. (2014). http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr/vol67/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The uS preme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference by an authorized editor of Osgoode Digital Commons. Reforming the Supreme Court Appointment Process, 2004-2014: A 10-Year Democratic Audit* Adam M. Dodek** 2014 CanLIIDocs 33319 The way in which Justice Rothstein was appointed marks an historic change in how we appoint judges in this country. It brought unprecedented openness and accountability to the process. The hearings allowed Canadians to get to know Justice Rothstein through their members of Parliament in a way that was not previously possible.1 — The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, PC [J]udicial appointments … [are] a critical part of the administration of justice in Canada … This is a legacy issue, and it will live on long after those who have the temporary stewardship of this position are no longer there.
    [Show full text]
  • Gosselin V. Que´Bec (Attorney General)
    Gosselin v. Que´bec (Attorney General) Gwen Brodsky, Rachel Cox, Shelagh Day and Kate Stephenson Authors’ Note Some of the authors of this judgment have a history with Gosselin v. Quebec (Attorney General) that pre-dates the creation of the Women’s Court of Canada. Rachel Cox and Gwen Brodsky were co-counsel to the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) in its 2001 intervention in Gosselin at the Supreme Court of Canada. Shelagh Day was an advisor to NAWL’s legal team in that litigation. Kate Stephenson was not directly involved in the Gosselin case, but her work as a leading anti-poverty litigator makes her intimately familiar with the reasoning and outcome. Each of the authors has been affected by the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision. Rachel Cox, who lived in Montre´ al in the 1980s when the Social Aid Regulation reduced young people’s welfare benefit by two-thirds, felt keenly the gulf between the reality of the time and the Supreme Court of Canada’s characterization of the scheme as ‘‘an affirmation of [young people’s] potential’’ and dignity. For those living in Que´ bec in the 1980s, the reason for the reduced rate was clear: to save the government money. Even if people disagreed about whether that was right or wrong, no one believed at the time that the government had designed the scheme in a sincere effort to help young people on welfare. There was a recession and somebody had to pay. Simply put, the court case was about whether or not it was legal for the government to make already very poor welfare recipients pay so much of the cost.
    [Show full text]
  • 37524 in the Supreme Court of Canada (On Appeal from the Court of Appeal for British Columbia)
    SCC Court File No: 37524 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA (ON APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA) B E T W E E N: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA APPELLANT (Appellant) - and - PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL, INC. RESPONDENT (Respondent) MOTION RECORD OF SAMUELSON-GLUSHKO CANADIAN INTERNET POLICY AND PUBLIC INTEREST CLINIC (Motion for leave to intervene) Pursuant to Rules 47 and 55 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section Common Law Section 57 Louis Pasteur Street 57 Louis Pasteur Street Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5 Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5 David Fewer David Fewer Tel: (613) 562-5800 x 2558 Tel: (613) 562-5800 x 2558 Fax: (613) 562-5417 Fax: (613) 562-5417 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Counsel for the Proposed Intervener Agent for the Proposed Intervener TO: THE REGISTRAR COPY TO: SISKINDS LLP SUPREME ADVOCACY LLP 680 Waterloo Street 100-340 Gilmour Street PO Box 2520, Station B Ottawa, ON K2P 0R3 London, ON N6A 3V8 James D. Virtue Marie-France Major Tel: (519) 672-2121 Tel: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102 Fax: (519) 672-6065 Fax: (613) 695-8580 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Counsel for the Appellant, Agent for the Appellant, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of British Columbia British Columbia AND TO: McCARTHY TÉTRAULT LLP GOWLING WLG (CANADA) LLP Suite 2400, 745 Thurlow Street 160 Elgin Street, Suite 2600 Vancouver, BC, V6E 0C5 Ottawa, ON, K1P 1C3 Michael A.
    [Show full text]
  • 3:15 P. Roy Thomson Hall 60 Simcoe Street Toronto, Ontario
    1 THE LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA SPECIAL CONVOCATION TORONTO CALL 2 Thursday, February 25, 1999 - 3:15 p. Roy Thomson Hall 60 Simcoe Street Toronto, Ontario ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Opening Remarks - Treasurer . 3 National Anthem - Siobhan Dungan . 3 Citation - Philip M. Epstein, Q.C. 5 Remarks - Dr. Louise Arbour .6 Academic Awards .13 Presentation of Candidates for Call to the Bar, Admissions to the Degree of Barrister-at-law 14 Honour Song, Victory Song - Jimmy Dick 18 Oath of Allegiance . 22 Barristers Oath .23 Solicitors Oath .23 Remarks - The Honourable Madam Justice Heather J. Smith, Associate Chief Justice . 23 ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 3 1 ---Upon commencing at 3:15 p.m. 2 THE TREASURER: Convocation will come to 3 order. I would ask you to remain standing while Siobhan 4 Dungan sings the National Anthem. 5 ---National Anthem 6 THE TREASURER: Please be seated. 7 My name is Harvey Strosberg, and I am the 8 Treasurer of the Law Society. The Treasurer is the 9 President. The Law Society of Upper Canada governs the 10 legal profession in Ontario in the public interest. The 11 directors of the Law Society are called Benchers and the 12 Director's meeting is called Convocation.
    [Show full text]
  • Michel Bastarache's Language Rights Legacy
    The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference Volume 47 (2009) Article 13 Michel Bastarache’s Language Rights Legacy Michel Y. Hélie Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Citation Information Hélie, Michel Y.. "Michel Bastarache’s Language Rights Legacy." The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference 47. (2009). http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr/vol47/iss1/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The uS preme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference by an authorized editor of Osgoode Digital Commons. Michel Bastarache’s Language Rights Legacy Michel Y. Hélie I. CONQUEST TO CONFEDERATION On a battlefield almost 250 years ago, General Wolfe faced the Marquis de Montcalm and the dream of une Amérique française died. La Nouvelle-France, even then commonly known as Canada, became a British colony and the status of the language of Molière became uncertain, threatened and the source of conflict ever since. The constitutional status of the French language today in Canada, the direction in which it is headed, and the influence the Honourable Michel Bastarache has exerted over these issues is the subject of this paper. Although the intention of the British Empire to assimilate its newest acquisition is beyond doubt, the French fact, that is, the overwhelming majority of French-speaking inhabitants north of the American colonies, presented a significant challenge to achieving this goal.
    [Show full text]
  • International Journal of the Legal Profession Judging Gender
    International Journal of the Legal Profession Judging gender: difference and dissent at the Supreme Court of Canada MARIE-CLAIRE BELLEAU* & REBECCA JOHNSON** ABSTRACT Over 25 years ago, Justice Bertha Wilson asked “Will women judges really make a difference?” Taking up her question, we consider the place of difference in gender and judging. Our focus is on those ‘differences of opinion’ between judges that take the form of written and published judicial dissent. We present and interrogate recent statistics about practices of dissent on the Supreme Court of Canada in relation to gender. The statistics are provocative, but do not provide straightforward answers about gender and judging. They do, however, pose new questions, and suggest the importance of better theorizing and exploring the space of dissent. 1. Introductory observations In a controversial 1990 speech, Justice Bertha Wilson, the first woman judge of the Supreme Court oF Canada, posed a question that has occupied many theorists of law: “Will women judges really make a diFFerence?” (Wilson, 1990). With the beneFit oF 25 years with women judges on Canada’s highest court, it is worth returning to Justice Wilson’s question. But in asking about judges, gender and diFFerence, we want to Foreground a particular kind of diFFerence often present For appellate judges: a ‘diFFerence of opinion’. All judges grapple constantly with the unavoidable tension at the heart oF law—a tension between the demands of stability and responsive change (Fitzpatrick, 2001). But the grappling is intensiFied For appellate judges, who bring multiple skills and divergent liFe experiences to bear on a single case.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting the Charter with International Law: Pitfalls & Principles
    APPEAL VOLUME 19 n 105 Winner of the 2014 McCarthy Tétrault Law Journal Prize for Exceptional Writing ARTICLE INTERPRETING THE CHARTER WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW: PITFALLS & PRINCIPLES Benjamin Oliphant* CITED: (2014) 19 Appeal 105–129 INTRODUCTION While the use of international human rights law in Canadian courts is not an entirely novel phenomenon,1 there is little doubt that it has become more prevalent in the Supreme Court of Canada’s jurisprudence.2 Far from being treated “as some exotic branch of the law, to be avoided if at all possible,”3 the courts have come to embrace international law and human rights norms, notably in the course of defining the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”).4 Indeed, more than simply being considered among various aids to interpretation, it is often said that the Charter must be presumed to provide at least as much protection as international human rights law and norms, particularly those binding treaties that served as its inspiration.5 However, as I aim to show below, the Court has so far used international human rights law inconsistently and imprecisely in the process of Charter interpretation, exhibiting * The author would like to thank the Appeal Editorial Board for their diligent work and helpful suggestions throughout the process, and Judith Oliphant for her editorial assistance and unwavering support. Special thanks are also owed to Professor Brian Langille, who has been a constant source of encouragement and with whom many of these ideas below were initially developed. 1 See e.g. R v Shindler, [1944] AJ No 11, 82 CCC 206; R v Brosig, [1944] 2 DLR 232, 83 CCC 199; and R v Kaehler and Stolski, [1945] 3 DLR 272, 83 CCC 353.
    [Show full text]
  • 2007 Annual Report
    “Protecting the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through education and public interest litigation.” 2007 Annual Report 2 A Message from the Executive Director Starting with just one court case in 2005, the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has experi- enced phenomenal growth in 2006 and 2007. Since 2005, the CCF has: • Supported Chief Mountain’s fight for his equality rights as a Canadian in the face of an un- constitutional “Third Order” of government created by the Nisga’a Agreement (see page 14); • Intervened on behalf of taxpayers in Kingstreet Investments v. New Brunswick, in which the Supreme Court of Canada adopted the CCF’s argument that governments be held account- able for illegal taxation (see page 7); • Supported the constitutional challenge to Ontario’s ban on private health insurance, brought by Shona Holmes and Lindsay McCreith as they assert their right to access essential health care services outside of the Ontario Government’s monopoly (see pages 10 and 11); • Represented the Japanese Canadian Fishermens Association as it intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Kapp, a constitutional challenge to race-based commercial fisheries in B.C. (see page 13); and • Supported Doug Gould’s fight for racial equality on the Queen Charlotte Islands (see page 13). In addition to these court interventions, the CCF released “Judging the Judges” in April of 2007, just prior to the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “Judging the Judges” assesses Supreme Court of Canada judges in upholding individual and economic freedom, and equality before the law. This study examines cases which have a direct impact on the individual and economic freedom of citizens, and their equality before the law.
    [Show full text]