Canada’s constitutional mistake

By Bruce Pardy | Published by C2C Journal

Summary

It is people who make laws. People enforce laws. People apply laws to cases. It can’t be any other way. How to have the rule of law without the rule of persons?

Most Canadians surely believe their society is governed by the rule of law. We all have rights and freedoms, safeguarded by the courts, that protect us from the tyranny of the state. All of that is a mirage, argues Bruce Pardy. In this provocative essay, Pardy describes how authority in Canada is now vested in a managerial elite. They supervise our speech, employment, bank accounts and media. Controlling vast sectors of the economy and society, they track, direct, incentivize, censor, punish, redistribute, subsidize, tax, license and inspect. Elected legislatures delegate them authority, and courts let them do as they like – including infringing on Charter rights – to achieve whatever social goals they deem in the public interest. The rule of law has melted away; rule by law now prevails. It is time for Canadians to correct the naïve constitutional mistake that started us down this road.

Read the full article at the publisher’s website here

Republished by Brownstone Institute

Bruce Pardy is executive director of Rights Probe and professor of law at Queen’s University. Contact Bruce at rightsprobe@protonmail.com or on Twitter @PardyBruce.