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The Supreme Court decides some of the biggest issues in Canadian society: Do Canadians have the right to assisted suicide? Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? How far does freedom of religion or freedom of expression go?
In Constitutional Challengers, Adam Dodek has gathered together twenty-six of the most significant constitutional cases, including five major decisions concerning Indigenous rights. Behind every one of these cases is a person who had a problem to solve and ended up entangled in the Canadian judicial system.
Some of these people became crusaders — people who campaigned for a cause and set out to change other people’s views and create broader social change. These individuals, such as sex-workers' rights advocate Terri-Jean Bedford and abortion provider Dr. Henry Morgentaler, are villains to some and heroes to others. But most of the people behind the biggest legal decisions weren’t trying to champion a cause; they were just trying to achieve a result that became much bigger than themselves. They were along for the ride — often a long and convoluted one — in the Canadian justice system. It’s within their journeys, often overlooked by the media, that the true victories and life-altering costs of standing up for one’s beliefs can be found.
Just as every superhero has an origin story, so does every landmark decision from the Supreme Court of Canada. This book shares some of the most compelling tales behind Canada’s most celebrated and notorious legal victories.
We live in an age of great cynicism where many think they can't make a difference, or question the utility of the Charter. Dodek confronts the doubters head on. In Constitutional Challengers, he shows how ordinary Canadians took on the status quo, and using the Constitution, were able to make a difference.
Professor Adam Dodek has the unique ability of taking profoundly complex topics and not just simplifying them, he humanizes them. Reading the personal journey of individuals and their journey through the Canadian legal system was like stepping back into the classroom.
The law of Aboriginal rights and title can be hard to understand, but Constitutional Challengers brings to life the Aboriginal litigants and their stories, explaining in easy to read prose the importance of these decisions to Canada’s legal landscape.
These carefully curated stories, related vividly and with sensitivity, illustrate the impact on our constitution of personal sacrifice and persistence in the defence of our constitutional rights and freedoms. An informative and rewarding read!
Constitutional Challengers is an important contribution to Canadian legal literature that will be of interest to both lawyers and the interested public alike. A must read for anyone interested in the human stories behind some of the most important cases in Canadian constitutional history.
For decades, courts have protected some rights and weakened others. Behind every judicial decision, there's a person who endured the stress, expense and, often, notoriety of being a litigant fighting for change. Often, they could have just walked away. Adam Dodek, one of the country's great law scholars, tells the stories of these determined people with clarity, empathy, and skill.
Canada is defined by its people. This book, Constitutional Challengers by Adam Dodek, demonstrates that our constitution is a reflection of Canadians. It walks through the journey of everyday people who fought for principles, that inevitably has shaped a nation. A must-read to understand the human side of Canada’s constitution.
In his trademark style, Adam Dodek distills complex legal cases and theories into digestible chapters that humanize the most important events in Canadian legal history. The book tells the story of individuals, some of whom are willing heroes, some of whom are vile antiheroes, but all who have had a profound impact on the way Canadian society is organized and governed. It is a perfect mix of legal summary, history, and Canadian pop culture wrapped in easy-to-read pages.
Behind every landmark legal decision shaping Canadian society stands a person. Their names endure, but their stories fade from view. Adam Dodek changes that. With meticulous research, deep insight, and captivating storytelling, he illuminates the human beings at the heart of cases that have transformed Canadian law. These pages reveal the complex journeys of individuals who – often by accident – became catalysts for change. Dodek’s retelling reminds us that the law is not abstract – it is a profoundly human endeavour.
In the midst of these times, Constitutional Challengers is essential and required reading for Canadians of all ages. In it, Dodek and contributors explore many of the unlikely heroes journeys that set the foundation for how we arrived at this moment. Throughout, I found myself newly inspired by the folks who had the bravery to take on their own proverbial Goliaths. This text is a reminder that courage is wielded one small step at a time and an offer to find it when it calls.
Constitutional Challengers is a book that needs to be a required text for all law schools, nationally and internationally. Author Adam Dodek’s inclusion of a chapter on Indigenous rights strongly speaks that Indigenous people matter – Indigenous rights are Indigenous People – we matter! Law students, lawyers, governments and educators need to read and learn from the fundamental historical knowledge well articulated by Adam Dodek.
A great contribution to Canadian legal history, written for regular folks in an engaging, plain-language narrative style that brings to life the people and cases that have shaped our rights.
- Introduction: People Matter
- Part I - Constitutional Foundations
- Chapter 1: Janey Canuck, Personhood and the Famous Five: Emily Murphy
- Chapter 2: Fighting Racism in Western Canada: Quong Wing
- Chapter 3: Unlikely Champion of the Rule of Law: Frank Roncarelli
- Chapter 4: Equality Shunned: Stella Bliss
- Part II - The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Chapter 5: The Most Famous Name in Canadian Constitutional Law: David Oakes
- Chapter 6: A Kid with a Kirpan: Gurbaj Singh Multani
- Chapter 7: Teaching Hate in High School: Jim Keegstra
- Chapter 8: Canada’s Most Notorious Child Pornographer: Robin Sharpe
- Chapter 9: Championing LGBTQ Expression: Jim Deva, Bruce Smyth and the Little Sister’s Bookstore
- Chapter 10: Even Prisoners Have the Right to Vote: Richard Sauvé
- Chapter 11: Abortion Crusader: Dr. Henry Morgentaler
- Chapter 12: A Woman Who Would Not Submit: Chantal Daigle
- Chapter 13: A Right to the Basic Necessities of Life? Louise Gosselin
- Chapter 14: Canada’s Dominatrix: Terri-Lynn Bedford
- Chapter 15: The Right to Die with Dignity: Sue Rodriguez
- Chapter 16: Trial within a Reasonable Time: Elijah Askov
- Chapter 17: Equality in Substance: Mark Andrews
- Chapter 18: Making Equality Real for LGBTQ People: Delwin Vriend
- Chapter 19: Same Sex Marriage: The Two Michaels
- Chapter 20: Unlikely Equality Militants: Joanne Fraser, Colleen Fox and Allison Pilgrim
- Chapter 21: Educating Their Children in French: Jean-Claude Mahé, Angélique Martel, and Paul Dubé
- Part III – Indigenous Rights
- Chapter 22: Captaining Change for Indigenous Rights: Ronald Sparrow
- Chapter 23: More than Just Selling Salmon: Dorothy Van Der Peet
- Chapter 24: From Wrongful Conviction to Vindicator of Treaty Rights: Donald Marshall, Jr.
- Chapter 25: Never Giving up on Aboriginal Title: Chief Roger William and the Tsilquot`in Nation
- Chapter 26: Constitutionalizing Métis Rights: Harry Daniels
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Photo Credits