Preface and Acknowledgments

• Author: Craig Forcese/Aaron Freeman
• Pages: 17-19

Preface

and

Acknowledgments

This

is a

book about

the

legal foundation

of

Canadian democracy

— the law

of

politics

as it

exists

at the

federal level.

It is

designed

as a

detailed legal

resource

for all who

participate

in

Canada's democratic process,

as

lawyers,

judges,

politicians, academics, journalists

or

simply

as

voters. More

than

that,

it is a

book that critiques policy.

If we

think

the

emperor

is

without

clothes, we've pointed

a

finger.

Boiled

down

to the

essence, these policy critiques

reflect

rather conven-

tional

democratic liberalism tinged with

an

element

of

popular sovereignty.

Our

perspective includes:

a

strong suspicion

of

executive-dominated

gover-

nance;

a

belief

in the

need

for

transparency

and

accountability

in the

exer-

cise

of

power;

a

healthy regard

for a

"limited" government constrained

by

human

and

civil

rights

and for the

legitimate

and

vital role

of an

independ-

ent

judiciary

in

guaranteeing these principles;

and finally, a

core

faith

that,

given

a

chance

to be

taken seriously, most people will make mostly right

decisions most

of the

time. These

are the

views that pervade

our

thinking

on

the

technical legal issues that

are the

basis

of

Canadian democracy.

Our

approach reflects

our

accumulated experience:

for

well over

a

decade,

one or

both

of us has

taught

these

laws, lobbied

or

litigated regard-

ing

them,

and

voted for, against,

or

because

of

them.

This

book

is as

much

a

product

of our

experiences

as

citizens

as it is of our

roles

as

academics

and

public policy writers.

p

xvii