Please join University of Toronto Faculty of Law Dean Mayo Moran and David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights Executive Director Cheryl Milne at this special panel discussion on Friday, December 5 from noon to 2 p.m at the Faculty of Law, 78 Queen's Park, Flavelle House, Rowell Room.
This event will be webcast live.
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Was the Governor General's Decision to Prorogue Parliament Constitutional?
Canada's Leading Scholars Weigh in on this Historic Ruling
After meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Governor General Michaëlle Jean has agreed to suspend Parliament until the New Year, averting a confidence motion by the Bloc Quebecois-backed Liberal-NDP coalition.
With all the options available to the Governor General was this the right decision, and more important, constitutional?
Hosted by the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights at University of Toronto Faculty of Law and introduced by Dean Mayo Moran, Canada's leading constitutional scholars will address these and other questions as they debate and weigh in on the issues around this historic decision, whether it contravenes constitutional conventions, and what this might mean for our economy.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Cheryl Milne, Executive Director of the Faculty of Law’s David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, with introductory remarks from Faculty of Law Dean Mayo Moran. Former Governor General Ed Schreyer will also be joining the panel discussion via teleconference. Members of Parliament Bob Rae of the Liberal Party, Peter Kent of the Conservative Party and Joe Comartin of the NDP will also be speaking at the event.
Confirmed Panelists Include:
David Cameron is the Chair of the Political Science Department at U of T, and is renowned for his significant career in public service at both federal and provincial levels of government. Professor Cameron’s interests include Canadian government and politics, questions of federalism andQuebec nationalism, ethnocultural relations, and the politics and constitution-making of emerging federal countries such as Sri Lanka and Iraq.
Joe Comartin is the NDP Member of Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh. He began his involvement in the environmental movement as a law student, working with Pollution Probe and the Canadian Environmental Law Association. He is the first Chairperson of the Children’s Services Committee of the City of Windsor, and also served on the City of Windsor’s Emergency and Health Services Inquiry Commission. In recognition of his work for wildlands and wildlife, he was named “Rookie MP of the Year” in 2001 by Wild Canada.
Bob Rae is the Liberal Member of Parliament for Toronto. A former member of the NDP, he was the 21st Premier of Ontario and is the only person to have led an NDP government east of Manitoba. In 2006, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, finishing in third place on the third ballot. He is a candidate for the current leadership race.
Peter Kent is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Thornhill and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Americas). He is a renowned broadcast journalist, having spent more than 40 years working as a writer, reporter, producer, anchor and senior executive in Canada, the United States and around the world. During his career, Kent worked with CTV, Global, CBC, NBC, and Monitor Television, and covered stories that shaped the 20th century, including the Yom Kippur War, the end of the Cold War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Ed Schreyer is the first Manitoban to be appointed Governor General in 1979. Following five years in Rideau Hall, he was appointed High Commissioner to Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. At the same time, he was Ambassador to Vanuatu until 1988. Returning to Canada, Schreyer re-entered the academic community, teaching at the University of Winnipeg (1989-1990); Simon Fraser (1991; University of Victoria (1992-1994); and University of British Columbia (1995-2000). In April of 2002, Schreyer was named Chancellor of Brandon University.
Peter H. Russell is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto. He is the author of several books on the constitution, democracy and the judiciary, including Two Cheers for Minority Government: The Evolution of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy.
Lorne Sossin is a Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto and former Associate Dean (2004-2007). His teaching interests span administrative law, public administration, professional regulation, civil litigation, ethics & professionalism and legal process. He was the recipient of the Mewett Teaching Award in 2003 and 2004.
Lorraine Weinrib is a professor with the Faculty of Law and the Department of Political Science. She has worked in the Crown Law Office - Civil, Ministry of the Attorney General (Ontario), holding the position of Deputy Director of Constitutional Law and Policy. Her work included legal advice and policy development on constitutional issues, as well as extensive litigation, frequently at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Moderator:
Cheryl Milne is the Executive Director of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. She is a leading member of the constitutional law bar in Ontario. She is currently Chair of the Ontario Bar Association's Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights section. She has appeared at all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as various administrative tribunals and the clinic itself in interventions and applications.
Introductory Remarks:
Mayo Moran is Dean of U of T's Faculty of Law and James Marshall Tory Dean's Chair. She has published in comparative constitutional law, private law, and legal and feminist theory. Her book Rethinking the Reasonable Person was published in 2003 by Oxford University Press. In 2005, she was co-editor with Prof. David Dyzenhaus of Calling Power to Account: Law, Reparations and the Chinese Canadian Head Tax Case. Professor Moran's work focuses on how our practices and theories of responsibility come to terms with discrimination. Professor Moran has also worked on litigation involving the equality guarantee under the Charter and, most recently, the Chinese Canadian Head Tax claim.
