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The Politics of Constitutional Change in a Federal System: Negotiating Section 92A of the Canadian Constitution Act (1982).
- Source :
- Publius: The Journal of Federalism; Winter91, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p121-142, 22p
- Publication Year :
- 1991
-
Abstract
- This article examines the process of constitutional change surrounding the enactment of the natural-resource amendment (Section 92A) to the Canadian Constitution Act (1982). It traces the motivations behind the adoption of the clause to a combination of long-term exogenous factors originating in the OPEC-inspired price rises of the 1970s, and short-term endogenous factors particular to Canada's political and institutional arrangements, including unpredictable patterns of judicial arbitration of constitutional issues. The presence of endogenous and exogenous "shocks" to long-established constitutional modus vivendi allows some predictions to be made about the general nature and direction of future constitutional change. However, the workings of short-term political and institutional variables make it impossible to predict the exact content of the constitutional response to such influences. This finding supports Ban- ting and Simeon's hypothesis that constitutional change is political process subject to political forces in society and that constitutional change, like constitution-making, remains an art and not a science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00485950
- Volume :
- 21
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Publius: The Journal of Federalism
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 27664687
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a037915