Keywords
Canada. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Public policy (Law); Canada
Document Type
Special Issue Article
Abstract
Much of the literature on the Charter has focused on the manner in which the courts have interpreted the document. This essay examines the Charter from another perspective-its impact on the policy process within government. Drawing on a series of papers prepared by senior government officials at both the federal and provincial levels, the authors argue that the Charter has permanently changed the way in which governments formulate and implement public policy in Canada. Virtually all policy proposals making their way to the Cabinet table must be examined to ensure that they conform to the requirements of the Charter. This has forced governments to put in place new procedures and structures to undertake this review. It has also changed the balance of power within government, significantly enhancing the role and authority of the Attorney General. The authors describe these important structural changes and assess the degree to which they make a difference to policy outcomes.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Citation Information
Monahan, Patrick J. and Finkelstein, Marie.
"The Charter of Rights and Public Policy in Canada."
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
30.3 (1992)
: 501-546.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.1712
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol30/iss3/1