Democratic Rights in a Technocratic Age: When Constitutions (in Law) Are Not Enough

AuthorJane Bailey
Pages487-509

DemocraticRights
inaTechnocraticAge
WHENCONSTITUTIONSINLAW
ARENOTENOUGH
Jane Bailey*
Today we can examine the interconnected systems of manufacturing,
communications, transportation and the like that have arisen during the past
two centuries and appreciate how they form a defacto constitution of sorts,
the constitution of a sociotechnical order.
LangdonWinner
You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.
ScoMcNealythenCEOofSunMicrosystems
A. INTRODUCTION
Inwemarktheoccasionofthethirtyfthanniversaryoftherepatri
ation of Ca nadas Constit ution and the entrenchment of the Canadi an
 FullProfessorUniversityofOawaFacultyofLawCommonLawSection
jbaileyuoawacaThankstoSafaAbdelRahmanforherexcellentresearchsup
portandtotheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearchCouncilforfundingThe
eQualityProjectwwwequalityprojectcaasevenyearpartnershipinitiativeof
whichtheresearchinthispaperformsapart
 LangdonWinnerTheWhaleandtheReactorASearchforLimitsinanAgeofHigh
TechnologyChicagoTheUniversityofChicagoPressat
 PollySprengerSunonPrivacyGetOverItWiredJanuaryonline
wwwwiredcomsunonprivacygetoverit
 ConstitutionActbeingScheduleBtotheCanadaActUKc
JB
Charter of Rights and Freedoms the  CharterAsearlyasthepre
decessor to CanadasConstitution t he British North America Act had
beendescribedasinadequateinthatitdidnotserveCanadiansfully
as either a mirror of ourselves or as an aspirational idealSimilarly
the CharterspredecessortheunentrenchedCanadian Bill of Rights also
cameupshortintermsofdemocraticidealsTheSpecialJointCom
mieeontheConstitutionsaw
aBillofRightswhichisentrenchedintheConstitutionservingasa
guaranteetoindividualsthatdemocracydoesnotmeanruthlessuni
formityasasymboltominoritiesthattheirreasonableautonomywill
berespectedandasasigntothewholepeopleofawholesomeration
alityinaworldoftengiventoaceaselessstruggleforpower
InafteryearsofdebatedialogueandnegotiationCanadasConsti
tutionwasnallyrepatriatedalthoughtheprovinceofQuebecwhich
hasitsownstatutoryCharter of Human Rights and Freedomsdeclined
tosignonIncorporatedinCanadasConstitutionisabodyofrights
andfreedomsentrenchingguaranteesrelatingtoexpressionmobility
lifelibertyandsecurityofthepersonsearchandseizureequalityand
manyothersAttherepatriationceremonythenPrimeMinisterPierre
Trudeaudescribedtheprocessasacomingofagestory
FormorethanhalfacenturyCanadianshaveresembledyoungadults
wholeavehometobuildalifeoftheirownbutarenotquitecondent
enoughtotakealongalltheirbelongings
Afterftyyearsofdiscussionwehavenallydecidedtoretrieve
whatisproperlyoursItismydeepesthopethatCanadawillmatch
itsnewlegalmaturitywiththatdegreeofpoliticalmaturitythatwill
allowustomakeatotalcommitmenttotheCanadianideal
 Cana dian Charter of Rights and FreedomsPartIoftheConstitutionActbeing
ScheduleBtotheCanadaActUKc
 TheConstitutionActUKVictcreprintedinRSCAppendix
IINo
 SenateHouseofCommonsSp ecialJointCommieeoft heSenateandHouseof
CommonsontheConstitutionofCanadaFi nal ReportJointChairsSenatorGildas
LMolgatMarkMacGuiganOawaInformationCanadaat
 Canadian Bill of RightsSCc
 Final Repo rtabovenoteat
 QuebecCharter of Human Rights and Freedo msCQLRcC
 RecentnewscoveragehoweversuggeststhattheConstitutioncouldbereopened
inordertoaddressQuebecsconcernsAmyMinskyAfterYearsWhyDoes
QuebecWantintheConstitutionGlobal News Juneonlinehpsglobal
newscanewsquebeccanadaconstitutionamendreopen

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