Constitutional Convention and Cabinet Manuals (Report)
By Canadian Parliamentary Review
- Release Date: 2011-12-22
- Genre: Law
Description
The proper functioning of Canada's parliamentary democracy relies on acceptance of our constitutional conventions. Yet, political disagreements among political actors during both the 2008 parliamentary crisis and the 2011 federal election campaign cast serious doubt on such acceptance. This article raises the question: how can our constitutional conventions be clarified to prevent future constitutional crises? Both New Zealand and the United Kingdom have implemented Cabinet Manuals to codify their constitutional conventions in a single document. Drawing on these examples, this paper argues for the adoption of a Canadian Cabinet Manual as a step towards preventing constitutional crisis, while creating an important informational tool for politicians, public servants, and the public alike. For Canada's parliamentary democracy to function properly, it is integral that key political actors agree on the fundamentals of our constitution. However, with the recent prevalence of minority governments, this agreement has been called into question. During both the December 2008 'parliamentary crisis' and the 2011 federal election campaign, the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appeared to hold markedly different views on key constitutional conventions than those espoused by opposition leaders and constitutional experts. This lack of consensus led some to fear that a situation may arise in the near future in which lack of agreement on conventions governing the Governor General's reserve powers could plunge Canada into a serious constitutional crisis.
