F. L. Morton

Law, politics and the judicial process in Canada

Since the first edition of this popular textbook appeared in 1984, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has transformed the role of the courts in Canadian politics. The book introduces students to issues raised by the new political role of Canadian judges. Law, Politics and the Judicial Process in Canada features new introductions and new readings that deal with current issues in the realm of Canadian law and politics.

Regional Perspectives on Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms: A Re–examination of Democratic Elitism

In The Clash of Rights , Paul. M . Sniderman, Joseph Fletcher, Peter Russell and Philip Tetlock have challenged the orthodox view of “democratic elitism” and “value consensus” with respect to support for civil rights and liberties. Based on analysis of Canadian attitudes toward the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Sniderman et al, found that support for rights claims varied more among elites than between elites and masses. They extend this finding to a hypothesis that competing political elites are prone to exploit disagreement over rights issues for purposes of partisan electoral advantage. They find that the Conservative officeholders are typically less supportive of rights claims, while New Democratic party and Parti Quebecois legislators tend to be more supportive. On most issues, the Liberals are (surprise!) in between. These findings lead to conclusions such as “the issue of bilingualism is political, not social.” More generally, Sniderman and his colleagues suggest that there is broad, evenly distributed support for rights among the Canadian public, and that conflict over rights is largely attributable to partisan competition among political leaders.

Sexual Equality and the Family in Tocqueville's Democracy in America

Tocqueville is usually understood to have proposed a two-tiered antidote to “the problem of democracy”: the doctrine of “self-interest rightly understood” and the preservation of religious belief. This article argues that Tocqueville provided a previously unnoticed third tier to his prescription: the democratic family. Sheltered from the competitive individualism of society, the family is portrayed as a haven of co-operation that nurtures the habits of altruism. Central to this scheme is a “different but equal” regime of the sexes. Arguing that increased equality leads to increased competition, Tocqueville suggests that a thorough-going equality of the sexes would undermine the familys function of moral formation.