The Canadian and American Constitutions in Comparative Perspective

Description

219 pages
Contains Bibliography, Index
$18.95
ISBN 1-895176-26-3
DDC 320.3'0971

Year

1993

Contributor

Edited by Marian C. McKenna
Reviewed by Graeme S. Mount

Graeme S. Mount is a history professor at Laurentian University and
author of Canada’s Enemies: Spies and Spying in the Peaceable Kingdom.

Review

To mark the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, American and Canadian
judges and academics met in Calgary in 1987. Marian C. McKenna,
Professor of History at the University of Calgary, collated the
conference papers, and the result is this book. The papers provide
background to the drafting of the two constitutions and tell what they
were supposed to achieve.

While there are no real surprises, the authors discuss many aspects of
the Constitution and their relevance to federalism, human rights, and
the judiciary. There is even the occasional comparison with such third
parties as Australia and Mexico. Those interested in constitutions will
certainly find the book informative.

However, most would sympathize with a plea by University of Toronto
political scientist Peter Russell, which concludes the book.
Anticipating the round of talks that led to the failed Charlottetown
Accord of 1992, Russell wrote after the failure of Meech Lake:
“Whether or not, in the fifth round of macro-constitutional politics,
we Canadians get the outcome we want or deserve, we should at least
agree that five rounds is enough. No other country in the world today
has been engaged so intensively, so passionately, or for so long, in
searching for the constitutional conditions of its continuing unity. It
has frustrated, demoralized and yes, even bored, our people. It has
undermined Canada’s ability to deal with pressing practical problems
within and to respond effectively to global opportunities without. We
simply cannot afford to let our great constitutional debate—addicted
to it though we may be—drag on interminably. It is time to bring it to
an end.” Unfortunately, thanks to the Bloc Québécois and the Parti
Québécois, Russell’s hopes have already been dashed.

Citation

“The Canadian and American Constitutions in Comparative Perspective,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed February 16, 2025, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/13298.