Présentation de l'éditeur

No province in Canada has codified a written constitution, and whether Quebec should be the first remains a controversial question. A Written Constitution for Quebec? enters into the debate, drawing a roadmap through the legal, political, and constitutional terrain of the issue.

Leading scholars each take their own position in the debate, examining the issue from various sides and exploring the forms and limits of a codified Quebec constitution by asking whether Quebec should adopt a written constitution, how the province might go about it, and what such a document might achieve. Along with a comprehensive introduction to constitutional codification and how it relates to Quebec, the book opens with a proposal for a written constitution, with the analyses that follow expressing a diversity of views on the feasibility and desirability of a written constitution for the province. An array of perspectives through the lenses of Indigenous inclusion and reconciliation, interculturalism and democratic constitutionalism, and insights from other federal and plurinational states - are included in this wide-ranging volume.

Taking a doctrinal, historical, theoretical, and comparative approach, A Written Constitution for Quebec? extensively addresses Quebec’s constitutional future in Canada.

Sommaire

Introduction: Constitution and Codificationx
Léonid Sirota and Richard Albert

Part One: Framing the Debate

1 Oui, Quebec Needs a Written Constitution
Daniel Turp

2 Legal Roadblocks to Proposals for a Quebec Constitution
Maxime St-Hilaire and Patrick F. Baud

3 Formal Constitutions of the Federating and Federated States of Canada
Patrick Taillon and Hubert Cauchon

Part Two: Purposes and Prospects

4 A Codified Quebec Constitution: A Vain Pursuit or the Making of a Sovereign People?
Nelson Wiseman

5 Interculturalism and the Plea for an Informal Constitution: Responding to the Challenge of Polyethnicity in Quebec
Alain-G. Gagnon and Arjun Tremblay

6 Constitutive Power and the Nation(s) of Quebec
Mark Walters

7 Why Alberta Needs a Constitution
F.L. Morton

Part Three: Insights From Abroad

8 Political Functions and Limitations of Contemporary State Constitutions in the United Statesx
Jonathan L. Marshfield

9 The Brazilian Experience with Subnational Constitutions: What Went Wrong?
Débora Costa Ferreira and Juliano Zaiden Benvindo

10 Constitutionalization à l’Écosse: Subnational Constitutionalism as Constitutional Reconciliation
Erin F. Delaney

Should Quebec Adopt a Written Constitution? A (But Not The) Conclusion
Hoi L. Kong