Canadian Constitutional Law

The Faculty of Law is saddened to hear about the passing of Prof. Richard Simeon, 70, on October 11, 2013, one of Canada's most notable political scientists. He was cross-appointed to the Faculty for many year from the Department of Political Science. A memorial is set for later this fall.

Professor Kent Roach, Wilson-Prichard Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, was awarded an esteemed Trudeau Foundation Fellowship today, worth $225,000, in recognition of his outstanding scholarly and pro bono contributions in constitutional, human rights and anti-terrorism issues.

Three faculty members have been cited in a decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on whether the requirement for new citizens of Canada to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen. In his decision, Justice Edward Morgan cited articles by Professors Lorraine Weinrib, Ayelet Shachar, and Ran Hirschl. He also cites former faculty member Sujit Choudhry.

See the full decision on CanLII.

In a commentary in the Toronto Star, Prof. Denise Réaume argues that, in the name of secularism and rejection of Quebec's religiously claustrophobic past, the Parti Québécois' Charer of Values in fact re-enacts that history of insularity ("‘Dead hand of the Church’ evident in Quebec’s debate on values," September 19, 2013).

In a commentary in the Ottawa Citizen, Prof. Kent Roach analyzes developments in the use of the law in response to terrorism, in relation to recent arrests and federal government legislation ("Two steps forward, one back in dealing with terrorism," April 24, 2013).

Read the full commentary on the Ottawa Citizen website, or below.

"The Quest for A Charter Equality Test: Has the Longest Way Round Been the Shortest Way Home?"

 By Aoife Quinn, 1L

“Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.” James Joyce, Ulysses