Since the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, the question of judicial power and its relationship to parliamentary democracy has been an important one in Canadian politics. Some critics, suspicious of what they perceive as the "activism" of "unelected and unaccountable" judges, view the increased power of the Supreme Court as a direct challenge to parliament. But has parliamentary democracy been weakened by judicial responses to the Charter?

In Governing with the Charter, James Kelly clearly demonstrates that our current democratic deficit is...

The introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom in 1982 was accompanied by much fanfare and public debate, and the Charter remains the subject of controversy 25 years later. Contested Constitutionalism does not celebrate the Charter; it offers a critique by distinguished scholars of law and political science of its effect on democracy, judicial power, and the place of Quebec and Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Employing a diversity of methodological approaches, contributors explore three themes: Governance and institutions, policy making and the courts, and citizenship...