Preface and acknowledgments to the first edition

AuthorCraig Forcese - Aaron Freeman
Pages17-18
xvii
Preface and Acknowledgments
to the First Edition
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 gov-
ernance; a belief in the need for transparency and accountability in the ex-
ercise 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 dec-
ade, one or both of us has taught these laws, lobbied, or litigated regarding
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+a

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