Not all political fights are power grabs
Emmett Macfarlane: If the decent people implicated by the SNC-Lavalin affair engaged in some self-reflection, Tuesday’s decision would not have been necessary.
Emmett Macfarlane
Emmett Macfarlane is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Waterloo. His book, Governing from the Bench: The Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Role, was published in 2013 by UBC Press.
Doug Ford’s law to slash Toronto council is unfair—but the court shouldn’t have spiked it
Opinion: The court decision that struck Bill 5 down hinges on incoherent legal arguments, and goes beyond the bounds of a judicial ruling—and that’s dangerous
In its ’free-the-beer’ ruling, the Supreme Court reveals its contradictions
Opinion: The Supreme Court—neutered by politics—delivers a craven, logically inconsistent decision on Gerard Comeau’s cross-border alcohol fight
Richard Wagner is the right choice to be Supreme Court chief justice
Opinion: Emmett Macfarlane on the Quebec jurist who will succeed Beverley McLachlin, and the challenges ahead for the court he will lead
Proposing amendments isn’t Senate activism. It’s the Senate’s job.
No, the Senate isn’t obstructing the House of Commons—and casting its actions as unprecedented activism is ahistorical
The chilling effect of a McGill University tweet on its scholars
University of Waterloo professor Emmett Macfarlane on why McGill’s public distancing of itself from a scholar is a problem
How a new appointment process ushers in Supreme Court transparency
The government’s Supreme Court appointments policy improves what has typically been an opaque process—but it’s not perfect.
How to build a better Senate? Reform it from the inside
Emmett Macfarlane advised the government on its plan for Senate reform. Here is what he has to say about today’s announcement
Denis Coderre vs. Ottawa on supervised-injection sites
Emmett Macfarlane examines the looming showdown between Montreal and Rona Ambrose on supervised-drug-injection facilities
What we’re talking about when we talk about ’judicial activism’
Has the Supreme Court gone too far?