Canadian Constitutional Law

Prof. Kent Roach, with the University of Ottawa's Craig Forcese, spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on Thursday, March 12, 2015 about the Canadian government's proposed new security legislation, Bill C-51. They also presented an extensive series of proposed amendments to the bill.

Their statement and proposed amendments are based on the over 200 pages of detailed analysis of the bill they have produced on their website, antiterrorlaw.ca.

Prof. Kent Roach and University of Ottawa law professor Craig Forcese are engaging in an experiment in legal scholarship done in “real time” in a highly politicized environment, in which fundamental decisions about the shape of law are being made.

They are undertaking an ongoing analysis of Bill C-51, the government’s controversial anti-terror law proposal, which began immediately after the bill was proposed and is proceeding as the bill works its way through Parliament.

In a commentary in the National Post, Prof. Kent Roach and University of Ottawa Prof. Craig Forcese provide a hypothetical situation to show how the Canadian government's proposed laws against advocating for terrorism could in fact undermine law enforcement ("The government’s new speech crime could undermine its anti-terror strategy," February 10, 2015).

The commentary is based on their in-depth analysis at antiterrorlaw.ca.

In a commentary in The Globe and Mail, Prof. Kent Roach and Prof. Craig Forcese of the University of Ottawa argue that proposed Canadian government legislation to criminalize the advocacy of terrorism would be a serious constraint of free speech, and likely unconstitutional ("How Ottawa’s new terrorism act could chill free speech," February 5, 2015).

In a commentary in the Ottawa Citizen, Prof. Kent Roach looks at the current state of court-ordered remedies for violations of constitutional rights ("Your rights, your remedies," February 2, 2015).

The commentary is a lead-up to his "Big Thinking" lecture on "Judicial activism and the role of courts in providing remedies" organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Trudeau Foundation, in Ottawa on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015.

Prof. Kent Roach, with Prof. Craig Forcese of the University of Ottawa, has written a commentary in The Globe and Mail analyzing the Canadian government's proposed overhaul of national security laws ("Red, yellow lights for security measures," January 30, 2015).

Read the commentary on The Globe and Mail website, or below.