The Charter Debates: The Special Joint Committee on the Constitution, 1980-81, and the Making of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

"Adam M. Dodek is right to suggest that the interpretive engagement with the Charter’s drafting process was curtailed in early Charter cases as a result of the Supreme Court of Canada’s rejection of an originalist path. Judges saw originalism as limiting Charter rights. We have generally not revisited that decision despite a growing body of scholarship that questions the anti-originalist rationale. This book provides a very easy access point to this piece of important but largely forgotten constitutional history that will enable courts and scholars to take a fresh look."

Jula Hughes, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick

"Adam M. Dodek contextualizes and brings attention to a significant moment in modern Canadian constitutional history, the Special Joint Committee on the Constitution, 1980−81. Perhaps most importantly, Dodek has edited the previously unwieldy and voluminous hearing transcripts into a readable and useful resource that will appeal to constitutional scholars across the disciplines of law, history, and political science."

Eric Adams, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta