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A Written Constitution for Quebec? |
eBook Available
Debating the feasibility and desirability of Canada’s first provincial constitution.
No province in Canada has codified a written constitution, and whether Quebec should be the first remains a controversial question. A Written Constitution for Quebec? enters into the debate, drawing a roadmap through the legal, political, and constitutional terrain of the issue.
Leading scholars each take their own position in the debate, examining the issue from various sides and exploring the forms and limits of a codified Quebec constitution by asking whether Quebec should adopt a written constitution, how the province might go about it, and what such a document might achieve. Along with a comprehensive introduction to constitutional codification and how it relates to Quebec, the book opens with a proposal for a written constitution, with the analyses that follow expressing a diversity of views on the feasibility and desirability of a written constitution for the province. An array of perspectives through the lenses of Indigenous inclusion and reconciliation, interculturalism and democratic constitutionalism, and insights from other federal and plurinational states - are included in this wide-ranging volume.
Taking a doctrinal, historical, theoretical, and comparative approach, A Written Constitution for Quebec? extensively addresses Quebec’s constitutional future in Canada.
Leading scholars each take their own position in the debate, examining the issue from various sides and exploring the forms and limits of a codified Quebec constitution by asking whether Quebec should adopt a written constitution, how the province might go about it, and what such a document might achieve. Along with a comprehensive introduction to constitutional codification and how it relates to Quebec, the book opens with a proposal for a written constitution, with the analyses that follow expressing a diversity of views on the feasibility and desirability of a written constitution for the province. An array of perspectives through the lenses of Indigenous inclusion and reconciliation, interculturalism and democratic constitutionalism, and insights from other federal and plurinational states - are included in this wide-ranging volume.
Taking a doctrinal, historical, theoretical, and comparative approach, A Written Constitution for Quebec? extensively addresses Quebec’s constitutional future in Canada.
Details
Part of the Democracy, Diversity, and Citizen Engagement Series (number 9 in series)
352 Pages, 6 x 9
4 figures, 5 tables
ISBN 9780228013853
January 2023
Formats: Cloth, eBook
“A novel addition to the literature, this book welcomes a lively interdisciplinary debate sprung from the idea of written constitutions. By focusing the study on the case of Quebec while also exploring perspectives from around the globe, the book enjoys the benefits of both a single-case study - with thick descriptions and insightful analysis - and a multi-case study - with wide-ranging and comparative insights.” Emmanuelle Richez, University of Windsor
“Insightful and incisive, this volume adds clarity to a topic that tends to be poorly understood, especially by Anglophone Canadians outside of Quebec. It is also an important contribution to scholarly work on substate dynamics and substate constitutions, which are too often overlooked." Christian Leuprecht, Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University
“I read this book in nearly one sitting-it is that good. Any scholar of Canadian or Quebec politics who reads this book will walk away thankful for the perspectives offered by the contributors and for the hard work of the collection’s two brilliant editors.” Publius
“Insightful and incisive, this volume adds clarity to a topic that tends to be poorly understood, especially by Anglophone Canadians outside of Quebec. It is also an important contribution to scholarly work on substate dynamics and substate constitutions, which are too often overlooked." Christian Leuprecht, Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University
“I read this book in nearly one sitting-it is that good. Any scholar of Canadian or Quebec politics who reads this book will walk away thankful for the perspectives offered by the contributors and for the hard work of the collection’s two brilliant editors.” Publius
Richard Albert is professor of world constitutions at the University of Texas at Austin.
Leonid Sirota is associate professor at the School of Law at the University of Reading.
Leonid Sirota is associate professor at the School of Law at the University of Reading.
Tables and Figures | vii
Acknowledgments | ix
Introduction: Constitution and Codification | 3
Léonid Sirota and Richard Albert
Part One: Framing the Debate
1 Oui, Quebec Needs a Written Constitution | 29
Daniel Turp
2 Legal Roadblocks to Proposals for a Quebec Constitution | 59
Maxime St-Hilaire and Patrick F. Baud
3 Formal Constitutions of the Federating and Federated States of Canada | 88
Patrick Taillon and Hubert Cauchon
Part Two: Purposes and Prospects
4 A Codified Quebec Constitution: A Vain Pursuit or the Making of a Sovereign People? | 115
Nelson Wiseman
5 Interculturalism and the Plea for an Informal Constitution: Responding to the Challenge of Polyethnicity in Quebec | 137
Alain-G. Gagnon and Arjun Tremblay
6 Constitutive Power and the Nation(s) of Quebec | 162
Mark Walters
7 Why Alberta Needs a Constitution | 188
F.L. Morton
Part Three: Insights From Abroad
8 Political Functions and Limitations of Contemporary State Constitutions in the United States | 223
Jonathan L. Marshfield
9 The Brazilian Experience with Subnational Constitutions: What Went Wrong? | 252
Débora Costa Ferreira and Juliano Zaiden Benvindo
10 Constitutionalization à l’Écosse: Subnational Constitutionalism as Constitutional Reconciliation | 283
Erin F. Delaney
Should Quebec Adopt a Written Constitution? A (But Not The) Conclusion | 307
Hoi L. Kong
Contributors | 325
Index | 329
Acknowledgments | ix
Introduction: Constitution and Codification | 3
Léonid Sirota and Richard Albert
Part One: Framing the Debate
1 Oui, Quebec Needs a Written Constitution | 29
Daniel Turp
2 Legal Roadblocks to Proposals for a Quebec Constitution | 59
Maxime St-Hilaire and Patrick F. Baud
3 Formal Constitutions of the Federating and Federated States of Canada | 88
Patrick Taillon and Hubert Cauchon
Part Two: Purposes and Prospects
4 A Codified Quebec Constitution: A Vain Pursuit or the Making of a Sovereign People? | 115
Nelson Wiseman
5 Interculturalism and the Plea for an Informal Constitution: Responding to the Challenge of Polyethnicity in Quebec | 137
Alain-G. Gagnon and Arjun Tremblay
6 Constitutive Power and the Nation(s) of Quebec | 162
Mark Walters
7 Why Alberta Needs a Constitution | 188
F.L. Morton
Part Three: Insights From Abroad
8 Political Functions and Limitations of Contemporary State Constitutions in the United States | 223
Jonathan L. Marshfield
9 The Brazilian Experience with Subnational Constitutions: What Went Wrong? | 252
Débora Costa Ferreira and Juliano Zaiden Benvindo
10 Constitutionalization à l’Écosse: Subnational Constitutionalism as Constitutional Reconciliation | 283
Erin F. Delaney
Should Quebec Adopt a Written Constitution? A (But Not The) Conclusion | 307
Hoi L. Kong
Contributors | 325
Index | 329
