Power to the People: Initiative, Referendum, Recall and the Possibility of Popular Sovereignty in Canada

DUFF CONACHER

ABSTRACT

In this article the author suggests that Canada's political tradition hinders Canadians' development into full citizens and that a first, practical step in the expansion of popular sovereignty in Canada is the institutionalization of a right of initiative, referendum, and recall (I,R,R) at all levels of government. The initial task is to establish that a scheme of I,R,R rights is needed in Canada. In Part I of the article the author suggests that in Canada's political system and culture most Canadians do not have the right to participate significantly in the governing power because the means of access to and influence of government in Canada are dominated by business interests and the effects of media coverage and are limited for individual Canadians. In Part II the author argues that establishing an I,R,R system is a possible first step towards allowing Canadians to participate more fully in government decision-making. To this end the author sets out eighty-eight recommendations that form the basis of an I,R,R rights scheme within a parliamentary democracy.

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Citation: (1991) 49(2) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 174.
Copyright © 1991. University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review.
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