Multiculturalism and the Canadian Constitution

In his introduction to this collection, Tierny (law, U. of Edinburgh, Scotland) refers to Canada as a "self-consciously multicultural state." What follows are 11 essays by scholars in law, political science, and history each considering the relationship between the Canadian constitution and its enforcement, federalism, and the country's multicultural environment which includes French Canada and numerous indigenous communities. Specific topics include: the Canadian model of diversity in a comparative perspective, the implications of the defeat of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords for executive federalism, the Canadian state and minority languages, international agreements and the multicultural federal state, strategies for interpretation of the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (provided in whole in the appendix), and insights on welfare rights from the Supreme Court of Canada, among others. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Stephen Tierney is Reader in Law at the University of Edinburgh. Contributors include Daniel Bourgeois and Andrew F. Johnson, Marc Chevrier, Robert J. Currie, Jameson Doig, Katherine Eddy, Hugh Donald Forbes, Hugh Kindred, Will Kymlicka, Ian Peach, Joan Small, and Michael Temelini.