Division of Powers

The CUPE Cause Célèbre: Provinces Spend beyond what Canada’s Constitutional Drafters Budgeted For
Introduction On October 31st 2022, the Ontario Government led by Premier Doug Ford invoked s. 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”) to shield its ‘back to work’ legislation from judicial scrutiny. The legislation, known as the Keeping Students in School Act, 2022, would have terminated any on-going strike by the Canadian […]

Appeal Watch: Delineating Constitutional Cannabis in Janick Murray-Hall v Attorney General of Quebec .
Introduction On September 15th, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) heard Janick Murray-Hall v Attorney General of Quebec SCC 39906 [Murray-Hall (2022)], on appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA” or “Court of Appeal”). This case offers the SCC an early opportunity to scrutinize and define federal and provincial legislative […]

The Slow-Moving, Silent, and Creeping Constitutional Crises facing Canada
Introduction: Recent laws passed by the Provincial Legislatures in Alberta and Quebec have reignited old, unsettled frictions about the appropriate division of powers between Canada's Provinces and Federal Government. The following article will be divided into three parts, outlining a) the post-repatriation history of constitutional negotiations, b) recent legislative developments in Alberta and Quebec that […]