Five More Minutes: Representing Public Interest Interveners Thirty-Five Years after the Charter

AuthorSusan Ursel, Kristen Allen, & Alec Stromdahl
Pages596-617

FiveMoreMinutes
REPRESENTINGPUBLICINTEREST
INTERVENERSTHIRTYFIVEYEARS
AFTERTHECHARTER
Susan Ursel, Kristen Allen, & Alec Stromdahl*
A. INTRODUCTION
Onalegal timesc aletheCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms could
besaidtobeinitslateadolescencehoveringonthebrinkofadulthood
anappropriatetimeto reviewandtake stocktoconsiderpastdevelop
mentsa nd to looka headT he evolutionof the involvement ofpublic
interestintervenersinthiscontextpart icularlyintheSupremeCourtof
Canadaist hefocus ofthispaperInitwe considersomeof theissues
facingtheCourtwithrespecttothefullandmeaningfulparticipationof
intervenersinthecontextofCharterlitigation
Todayitiswellacceptedthat theCourtwhen disposingofCharter
cases is engaging in an exercis e that is deeply integral to our demo
cratic institutionsandprocessesandt hatmeritsalegal processthat is
enhancedandr enderedmoretransparentbythe participationofpublic
interestintervenersThiswasnotalwaysthecaseWhentheCharterwas
 UrselPhillipsFellowsHopki nsonLLPSusanUrselisapartnerKr istenAllenisa n
associateandAle cStromdahlisana rticlings tudent
 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom s PartIoftheConstitutionActbeing
ScheduleBtotheCana daActUKc
 Bythiswemeanthec lassicbranchesofdemoc raticgovernmentlegi slativeexecu
tiveandjudicialalt houghitispossibletoconceiveofma nyotherinstit utionsthat
arebothneces saryandinteg raltoafunct ioningdemocracysuchaseducatio nal
policingandbu reaucraticinst itutions
Five More Minutes
rstintroducedt heCourtwas extremelyhesitant toinviteelements of
publicdiscourseintothecourtro om
Howeverbythe late sthe Court began torecog nize the use
ful role that interveners could playas it created the bu ilding blocks
uponwh ich the Charter of Rights and Freedomswouldbeinterpreted
Intervenerswerevalued fortheir relativeobjectivit yandembracedfor
theirabilitytorepresentinterestsreectiveofthebroadersociopolitical
dynamicsthatunderliethelawsbeinginterpretedbyt heCourt
Howeverinrecent yearst heCourt has faced ani ncreasinglya m
bitious docketand it has soughtout new waysto balance competing
demandsforitstimeWhiletheCourtremainspermissiveaboutgrant
ingleavetointervenesincetherehasbeenaurryofamendments
to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canadat hat haveimposed sig ni
cantconstraintsonthescopeofinterventionInaspanoftenyearsthe
lengthofintervenersfactahavebeencutinhalfthescope ofth eirfa cta
havebeen signicantly curtai ledand interveners ndtheir allotment
oftime fororalargumentwhen indeeditis grantedat allto amount
toveminutes
This chapter revisits the sociopolitical and inst itutional arguments
justifyi ngthebroadpart icipationofpublicinterestinterveners inCharter
casesandquerieswhether thelatestruleson interventionjeopardizet he
abilityofinterveners tofulll thesefu nctionsThec hapterisbrokeninto
foursectionsSectionBoutlinesthesociopoliticalandinstitutionaljusti
cationssupportingthebroadpart icipationofintervenersinCharter cases
  IanBrodieFriendsoftheCourtT hePrivilegingofInterestGroupLitigantsinCanada
AlbanyStateUniversityofNewYorkPressJohnKochMaki ngRoom
NewDirection sinThirdPar tyInterventio nUniversity of Toronto Faculty of
Law Reviewat
  JusticeFrankIacobuccia squotedinanintervieww ithThe Globe and MailSeeKirk
MakinInter venersHowManyareTooManyThe Globe and M ailMarch
A
  SupremeCourtofCanadaSt atisticstoFebruaryonline
wwwscccsccacasedossierstatcatengaspxcata
  BenjaminAla rieAndrewGreenInterve ntionsattheSupremeCourtofCanada
AccuracyAliationandAccep tanceOsgoode Hall Law Journal 
  Rules of the Supreme Court of CanadaS ORasamendedbySOR
SORSORSORRules
  IbidSOR
  IbidSOR
 SupremeCourtofCan adaNoticestotheProfes sionMarchAlloingTim e
forOralArgument Marchonlinewwwscccsccaarlrnoticesavis
enga spxSCCAlloingTimeforOralArgu ment

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