Power Without Law: The Supreme Court of Canada, the Marshall Decisions and the Failure of Judicial Activism

By Alex M. Cameron

The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Marshall case of 1999 asserted sweeping Native treaty rights to natural resources in the Maritime provinces and led to intense national and provincial controversy. In Power Without Law, Alex Cameron enlivens the debate over judicial activism with a close examination of the details of the Marshall case, analyzing the trial evidence and procedure and tracing the legal arguments through the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. He argues that there were critical defects in the process: the successful argument at the Supreme Court of Canada was never tested in the lower courts, the Crown's expert was precluded from testifying about a vital document, the Court's analysis does not accord with the historical evidence, and the treaty rights are inconsistent with the colonial law of Nova Scotia. The Marshall decision has had a profound impact on the native and non-native communities of Canada's East Coast, resulting in violence, division, and a significant shift in the economic landscape of the Maritimes. Concluding that the decision was the result of incautious judicial activism, Power Without Law questions the ruling and the role of courts and judges in the Charter era. Book jacket.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0773536108
• ISBN13: 9780773536104
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.4"