Charting the Consequences: The Impact of Charter Rights on Canadian Law and Politics

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

When the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms became law in 1982, it
was viewed by many as a vehicle of national unity since it gave
individual citizens across the land the same rights regardless of which
government was in office. At the same time, it was excoriated by others
who feared that it would Americanize the Canadian political system by
taking ultimate authority from elected politicians and transferring it
to the Supreme Court. This splendid book, published 15 years after the
event, affords an opportunity to assess the degree to which these early
assessments were valid.

Specialists contribute essays that deal with such topics as the impact
of the Charter on Quebec and Alberta, on business and economic rights,
on income tax law and policy, on First Nations politics, on gays and
lesbians, on private law, on access to justice in the country, and on
the study of mainstream political science. Taken as a whole, the essays
appear to support the view that the most powerful actors have been most
immune from Charter influences; included among these actors are the
provinces, which have been able to resist most of the Charter’s
homogenizing influences. While “middle-power” actors such as
political scientists and lawyers have been somewhat affected, the
greatest impact has been felt by the least powerful players. Natives and
women have made the fewest gains in Charter interpretation but at the
same time “[have] had their politics and practices most disrupted.”

This clearly written and well-documented book would have been improved
if a copy of the Charter had been appended. While space considerations
may have precluded this addition, it is less easy to defend the omission
of a general subject index. Finally, there should have been a list of
cases referenced, since several had an impact on the areas analyzed by
the authors.