Posts in Judiciary
Words Worth Noting - March 27, 2024

“The first thing worth noting is that the drafters of the Charter titled this first section ‘Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms.’ In other words, the intended purpose of the opening section is to underline that the rights and freedoms laid out in the Charter are guaranteed. But, if you look at almost every judgement that wrestles with this section, talk to almost any lawyer, or consult most government websites, they instead call the section ‘The Limitations Clause’ or ‘The Reasonable Limits Clause.’ That is a very different focus! And that betrays the problem: the legal culture in Canada has focused on the phrase ‘reasonable limits’ instead of ‘guarantees the rights and freedoms.’ That changes the analysis before we even start.”

André Schutten and Michael Wagner, A Christian Citizenship Guide 2nd edition

The Moncton menorah mess

In my latest Epoch Times column I say the mercifully now reversed decision by Moncton city council to ditch their traditional Hanukkah acknowledgement (and a nativity scene) reflects a dangerously mistaken understanding of the place of religion in a free society.

Government swells, bursts in Canada

In my latest Loonie Politics column I note the ominous apparent paradox in which as the federal government spends and hires ever more recklessly, the national police force totally fails to attend to its core duty of protecting that government and its citizens from subversion, espionage and so on.

A semi-victory on the No More Pipelines Act

In my latest Epoch Times column I say the Supreme Court ruling on the former Bill C-69, aka Impact Assessment Act, is not a big win for those who don’t want the feds to crush our energy industry, and we need to engage on the science of climate change not count on sloppily-drafted legislation to save us from the zealots.