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Comparative Constitutional Law. Class 10 September 20 2006 Canadian Constitutional Interpretation, Charter of Rights. A September Gale (1921) (Arthur Lismer). Above Lake Superior (1922) (Lawren Harris). Totem Forest (c. 1930) (Emily Carr).
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Comparative Constitutional Law Class 10 September 20 2006 Canadian Constitutional Interpretation, Charter of Rights
Types of Interpretation • Compare to U.S. • Originalism • Unwritten • Progressive Interpretation
“Living Tree” Metaphor • Edwards v. A-G Canada [1930] AC 124 • Overturned Supreme Court of Canada decision that s. 24 of British North American Act did not refer to women:The Governor General shall... summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and ... every Person so summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate and a Senator Specifically the question was whether."
Interpretation • Generous approach • Purposive approach
Crisis Management • Formalism of PC: less centralized model than framers intended • Has this less centralized model fundamentally changed since 1949? • Since 1982? • Has the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence become less formalistic? More creative?
Judicial Creativity • Patriation Reference (1981) • Secession Reference (1998) • Both granted new powers to the provinces in situations of crisis • Manitoba Language Reference (1985)