
Brian Bird: The humanity of judges is an asset, not a workplace hazard
Judges are human beings with formative experiences and perspectives that predate their judicial careers. They are not robots, and that is for the better.
Judges are human beings with formative experiences and perspectives that predate their judicial careers. They are not robots, and that is for the better.
It’s hard to imagine that many Canadians foresaw the Charter being argued in cases about euthanasia, prohibitions on private health care and same-sex marriage—to name only a few issues.
If the framers of 1982 thought that the constitutional changes of that year would bring about constitutional tranquility, they were sorely mistaken. The past forty years have featured intense activity on the constitutional front as governments have learned how to respect the Charter.
The public discourse in Canada is in bad shape. Key to improving it is adopting a critical posture—even towards our own deeply held beliefs and our own side’s convictions.
It is no overstatement to say that without Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada,1982 would not have happened.
As we near the second anniversary of the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are in a radically different and better place today than we were in March of 2020.
2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the Constitution Act, 1982. This pivotal act would not have been possible without the history that set the stage for it.
The law is often an insufficiently surgical instrument to remedy social ills. The human connection, often in the form of small gestures, is far superior.
Pope Francis will likely apologize for the involvement of the Church in the residential school system.
So far, courts have been deferential when evaluating the constitutionality of state action taken in response to COVID-19. But this posture will not last forever.