Research Catalog

Title

Constitutional pariah : reference re Senate reform and the future of Parliament / Emmett Macfarlane.

Author

Macfarlane, Emmett

Publication

Vancouver ; Toronto : UBC Press, [2021]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

x, 216 pages; 22 cm.

Summary

"The Canadian Senate has long been considered an institutional pariah, viewed as an undemocratic, outmoded warehouse for patronage appointments and mired in spending and workload scandals. After decades of debate about reform, in 2014 the federal government was compelled to refer constitutional questions to the Supreme Court relating to its attempts to enact senatorial elections and term limits. Constitutional Pariah explores the aftermath of Reference re Senate Reform. In its first significant attempt to articulate the boundaries between key procedures in the constitutional amending formula, the Court ruled out major unilateral alteration of the Senate by Parliament. Ironically, the decision resulted in one of the most sweeping parliamentary reforms in Canadian history, creating a pathway to informal changes in the appointments process that have curbed patronage and partisanship. Emmett Macfarlane situates this incisive analysis within the context of the roles of the upper house, its evolving performance, and historical efforts at reform. Despite reinvigorating the Senate, Reference re Senate Reform has far-reaching implications for constitutional reform in other contexts. Macfarlane's sharp critique suggests that the Court's nebulous approach to the amending formula raises the spectre of a frozen constitution, unable to evolve with the country."--

Series Statement

Landmark cases in Canadian law

Uniform Title

Landmark cases in Canadian law

Subjects

• Legislative bodies > Reform
• Canada > Supreme Court
• Canada > Politics and government > 2006-2015
• Canada > Parliament > Senate > Reform

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Additional Formats (note)

• Issued also in electronic format.

Contents

The Senate's (Unfulfilled) Roles -- A Brief History of Senate Reform -- If at First You Don't Succeed: The Harper Government and the Senate -- The Decision -- Informal Reform and a New Appointments Process: A Renewed Senate? -- A Constitution in Stasis? Prospects and Problems for Future Constitutional Change.

ISBN

• 9780774866217
• 0774866217
• 9780774866224
• 0774866225

OCLC

• on1224096913
• SCSB-14693204

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library