A Written Constitution for Quebec?

by Richard Albert (Editor), Léonid Sirota (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780228013853
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	01/15/2023
Series:	Democracy, Diversity, and Citizen Engagement Series , #9
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: Constitution and Codification Léonid Sirota Richard Albert 3

Part 1 Framing the Debate

1 Oui, Quebec Needs a Written Constitution Daniel Turp 29

2 Legal Roadblocks to Proposals for a Quebec Constitution Maxime St-Hilaire Patrick F. Baud 59

3 Formal Constitutions of the Federating and Federated States of Canada Patrick Taillon Hubert Cauchon 88

Part 2 Purposes and Prospects

4 A Codified Quebec Constitution: A Vain Pursuit or the Making of a Sovereign People? Nelson Wiseman 115

5 Interculturalism and the Plea for an Informal Constitution: Responding to the Challenge of Polyethnicity in Quebec Alain-G. Gagnon Arjun Tremblay 137

6 Constitutive Power and the Nation(s) of Quebec Mark Walters 162

7 Why Alberta Needs a Constitution F.L. Morton 188

Part 3 Insights from Abroad

8 Political Functions and Limitations of Contemporary State Constitutions in the United States Jonathan L. Marshfield 223

9 The Brazilian Experience with Subnational Constitutions: What Went Wrong? Débora Costa Ferreira Juliano Zaiden Benvindo 252

10 Constitutionalization à l'Écosse: Subnational Constitutionalism as Constitutional Reconciliation Erin F. Delaney 283

Should Quebec Adopt a Written Constitution? A (But Not The) Conclusion Hoi L. Kong 307

Contributors 325

Index 329

Editorial Reviews

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


“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

From the Publisher