Understanding Canada – serie

Understanding the Charter introduces one of Canada’s most important constitutional documents: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Designed for readers seeking a foundational understanding of Canadian law, this volume offers a substantial exploration of the Charter’s scope – examining to whom it applies, how it functions, and why it remains a powerful instrument for protecting human rights. It also delves into the debates and controversies that continue to shape the Charter’s role in Canadian law and politics.The book traces the Charter’s origins and the rights protections that preceded it, outlines the interpretive principles Canadian courts use in applying it, and provides a detailed analysis of key provisions. Topics include fundamental freedoms such as religion and conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, and association; democratic and mobility rights; legal protections against unreasonable search and seizure and arbitrary detention; as well as equality and language rights.Understanding the Charter also uncovers how rights can be limited by state actors, how those limits are assessed by the courts, and the remedies that are available when Charter rights have been unreasonably restricted.

How can Canada ensure it is not overlooked or taken for granted by the United States? That, in fact, Canada’s success is a central element of America’s success? This is the never-ending Canadian dilemma in Canadian-American relations. This book provides a brief comparative analysis of the Canada-United States relationship, including its political, economic, cultural, and international relations dimensions. To this end, it explores the comparative history and political cultures of the two countries; the institutions of their respective political systems; elections, political parties and voting; regionalism; public policies; and issues in Canadian-American relations. Across these many dimensions of comparison, it is clear that Canada and the United States are the same, only different.

Canada's notwithstanding clause is a constitutional provision, under section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that allows provincial, territorial, and federal legislatures to temporarily override certain Charter rights for up to five years.The Notwithstanding Clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms examines the notwithstanding clause at a pivotal moment in Canadian history, highlighting how it is increasingly used by governments to suspend constitutional rights. In response, individuals and advocacy groups have increasingly turned to the courts, challenging its application and seeking judicial intervention to limit its use under the Charter. With the Supreme Court of Canada poised to rule on the notwithstanding clause for the first time since 1988, this issue is set to remain a focal point of legal and political debate. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the clause's history, design, political uses, and the judicial and academic responses. It provides the foundational context of section 33, offering readers an in-depth understanding of this uniquely Canadian provision, which has sparked controversy for over four decades.

This book seeks to demystify carbon pricing in Canada while exploring its potential for global expansion. Written in French, La tarification du carbone au Canada et au-delà des frontières (Carbon pricing in Canada and beyond) offers a comprehensive analysis of the literature surrounding various aspects of carbon pricing. Key topics include the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming, the advantages and disadvantages of carbon pricing as a policy tool for reducing emissions, the history and fundamental principles of Canada’s pan-Canadian carbon pricing approach, the operation of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, and the constitutional challenges it faces. The book also examines the limitations of carbon pricing in effectively reducing global emissions and proposes potential solutions. By emphasizing the need for international coordination, it argues that the global expansion of carbon pricing is essential for achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.La taxe carbone : un sujet brûlant qui divise le Canada. Entre tensions politiques et préoccupations environnementales, ce débat révèle les complexités de la lutte contre le changement climatique. Découvrez les acteurs clés et les enjeux cruciaux qui façonnent cette politique controversée. Une plongée captivante au cœur des décisions qui façonneront l’avenir écologique du pays et du monde.Parmi les politiques publiques qui visent à réduire les émissions des gaz à effet de serre (GES), la tarification du carbone se démarque comme étant une approche particulièrement efficace en raison des principes économiques qui la supportent. Au Canada, le gouvernement fédéral possède une approche unique en la matière. L’approche pancanadienne à la tarification du carbone offre un exemple de coopération interprovinciale et interterritoriale qui est particulièrement inspirante lorsqu’on réfléchit à l’expansion de la tarification du carbone dans le monde. En effet, pour qu’elle puisse tenir ses promesses de réduction des émissions de GES, la tarification du carbone doit se développer à l’échelle mondiale. Cet ouvrage décrit l’approche pancanadienne à la tarification du carbone, où la collaboration entre le gouvernement fédéral et les provinces et territoires a donné naissance à une approche dynamique et coopérative. Ensuite, l’idée d’une coordination internationale sur la tarification du carbone est explorée.

In federal systems, the constitution protects all the issues that enable the federal structure to maintain a sustainable and lasting equilibrium between the centre and the periphery. These issues include the allocation of legislative powers, the structure of institutions, the autonomy of federated and federal entities, the settlement of disputes between them, and so on. Since these matters are enshrined in the constitution, amending its text is of fundamental importance in any federal system. Fédéralisme comparé et modification constitutionnelle offers a comparative study of the constitutional amendment procedure in ten federal systems, with the aim of contextualizing the Canadian process. This book examines the federal systems of Canada as well as Australia, Austria, Belgium, the European Union, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. To systematically compare these ten processes, the book investigates constitutional amendment procedures at various stages, ultimately suggesting the creation of an index for better analysis and comparison.