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Quasi-constitutional Laws of Canada
As the first book dedicated to quasi-constitutional laws in Canada, this work provides a much-needed overview of the elements that unite the various rights-protecting laws that have received this designation from the Supreme Court of Canada. These laws comprise several categories of federal and provincial statutes, including human rights, access-to-information, privacy, language rights, and the traditional civil liberties, as well as a common law principle. Quasi-constitutional Laws of Canada addresses the legal impact and theory of quasi-constitutionality for both a professional and an academic audience. It provides a useful roadmap for practitioners who routinely work with these statutes by engaging with the defining legal characteristics of quasi-constitutionality. This includes a special interpretative approach and the primacy of quasi-constitutional legislation over regular statutes. Academic readers will likewise be interested in the legal impact of quasi-constitutionality, since the ability to use quasi-constitutional statutes to declare conflicting legislation inoperable has received limited attention compared to orders of invalidity under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This book addresses theoretical questions concerning the relationship of quasi-constitutional laws with both regular legislation and the Constitution, and it provides a comparative analysis situating quasi-constitutional laws in Canada within the development of the weak-form model of constitutionalism and judicial review in the Commonwealth.
Contributors
John Helis
John Helis, called to the Ontario bar in 2006, has worked in the areas of law covered in this book for more than a decade. He is currently a member of the Social Benefits Tribunal, the tribunal from which originated the Tranchemontagne cases, some of the most significant decisions on the ability to use quasi-constitutional statutes to challenge other legislation. Before this appointment he practised law at a legal clinic in the areas of human rights and social justice. He was counsel for the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Police Services Board where he dealt with human rights, access-to-information, and privacy issues. He also worked for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs as part of a team negotiating land claims and self-government agreements with Indigenous groups. He taught law as an instructor at Carleton University. He holds a PhD in law from Queen’s University, a law degree (LLB) and an honour’s degree in political science from the University of Ottawa, and a master of arts degree in legal studies from Carleton University. His writing includes an article on quasi- constitutionality, which will be part of an edited book.