Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. Canada’s founding document, the Constitution Act, 1867, established the country as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. Executive authority resides with the Sovereign or that person’s representative (i.e., the Governor General of Canada). The Constitution assigns the Governor General a wide range… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Disponible en français : Résumé – Le partage des compétences législatives : un aperçu) The distribution of legislative powers among the various levels of government is a key feature of federalism. To guide this distribution, the Constitution Act, 1867 divides… Read More ›
Reading Time: 4 minutes (Disponible en français : Affaire Gérard Comeau : Le commerce intérieur bientôt dans la mire de la Cour suprême du Canada) About 150 years ago, Canada’s Fathers of Confederation contemplated trade across provincial boundaries when drafting section 121 of the… Read More ›
Reading Time: 6 minutes (Disponible en français : 150 ans de bilinguisme législatif au Canada : d’hier à aujourd’hui) This HillNote provides an historic and contemporary look at the evolution of legislative bilingualism in the Canadian parliamentary context. The genesis of a political compromise… Read More ›
Reading Time: 4 minutes (Disponible en français : Vous sentez-vous prêts à légiférer?) Government legislation often overshadows the important role played by individual members of Parliament and senators in proposing laws. Since 1910, 278 bills sponsored by MPs and senators have been passed by… Read More ›
Reading Time: 4 minutes (Disponible en français : Banques et protection des consommateurs – Une compétence fédérale, mais pas exclusivement) In recent rulings, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified some constitutional issues concerning federal and provincial authority in regulating certain banking practices. Section 91(15)… Read More ›