In Search of Canadian Political Culture - UBC Press

UBC Press
Misrecognized Materialists
Social Movements in Canadian
Constitutional Politics
Matt James
Governing with the Charter
Legislative and Judicial Activism and
Framers’ Intent
James B. Kelly
Canada’s history of intense
constitutional debate is
often depicted as a source
of national embarrassment
– a wasteful diversion from
more sensible endeavours.
Misrecognized Materialists
tells a different story.
Focusing on the participation
of Canadian social
movements, it shows
how constitutional politics
became an arena for important concerns often
excluded from traditional electoral and parliamentary
politics.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Acronyms
1 Constitutional Politics and the Politics of Respect: An
Introduction
2 Searching for a Forum: Social Movements at the Royal
Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations
3 Wartime: Social Esteem and Social Citizenship in the
Reconstruction Debates
4 The Postwar Identity Emphasis: Rights, Universalism,
and Virtue
5 Charter Politics as Materialist Politics
6 From Meech Lake to Charlottetown: Symbolic Power and
Visions of Political Community
7 Conclusion: Misrecognized Materialists in Canadian
Constitutional Politics
Notes; Bibliography; Index
2006, 160 pages, 6 x 9”
0-7748-1168-4 / 978-0-7748-1168-2 cloth $85.00
0-7748-1169-2 / 978-0-7748-1169-9 paper $29.95
(available July 2007)
Shortlisted for the 2006
Donner Prize for the best
book on public policy.
In Governing with the
Charter, James Kelly clearly
demonstrates that our
current democratic deficit
is not the result of the
Supreme Court’s judicial
activism. On the contrary,
an activist framers’ intent
surrounds the Charter,
and the Supreme Court has simply, and appropriately,
responded to this new constitutional environment.
While the Supreme Court is admittedly a political actor,
it is not the sole interpreter of the Charter, as the
court, the cabinet, and bureaucracy all respond to the
document, which has ensured the proper functioning of
constitutional supremacy in Canada.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Acronyms
Introduction
Part 1: Democratic Activism and Constitutional
Politics
1 Democracy and Judicial Review
2 Constitutional Politics and the Charter
3 Framers’ Intent and the Parliamentary Arena
Part 2: Judicial Activism and the Supreme Court of
Canada
4 The Supreme Court and Police Conduct
5 Guardians of the Constitution
Part 3: Legislative Activism and the Policy Process
6 The Charter and Canadian Federalism
7 Governing with the Charter of Rights
Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index
2005, 336 pages, 6 x 9”
16 tables
0-7748-1211-7 / 978-0-7748-1211-5 cloth $85.00
0-7748-1212-5 / 978-0-7748-1212-2 paper $29.95
LAW AND SOCIETY SERIES
www.ubcpress.ca / 1 877 864 8477 31