Against Judicial Activism : The Decline of Freedom and Democracy in Canada

The Charter and expansive versions of the federal and provincial human rights codes were supposed to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Canadians. Rory Leishman argues that this experiment in radical constitutional reform has failed because judicial activists and human rights adjudicators have read their ideological preferences into the law rather than upholding the law as originally understood. Against Judicial Activism cites numerous cases to support this argument. For instance, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and Supreme Court read a ban on discrimination on the ground of transsexualism as being part of the province's human rights code. On the basis of this revision of the law, the tribunal ordered the Vancouver Rape Relief Society to pay $7,500 to a transsexual man in compensation for refusing to admit him into a training course for rape crisis counsellors. Contents Preface Introduction 1 Judicial Activism versus the Rule of Law 2 Gay Rights Trump Freedom of Religion 3 Trust Not in the Charter 4 How Human Rights Commissions Suppress Our Freedom 5 How Our Judges Have Become Politicians 6 Escalating Judicial Attack on Christians 7 The Chief Justice Defends Judicial Supremacy 8 Reviving Parliamentary Democracy Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W Z "Against Judicial Activism argues that the courts (especially the Supreme Court) have subverted the judicial process in the name of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. For instance, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and Supreme Court read a ban on discrimination on the ground of transsexualism as being part of the province's human rights code."--Jacket