In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Acknowledgements The inspiration for this book came from a conversation with my son one evening as we watched the national news. It had just been announced that Prime Minister Stephen Harper was suing the Liberal Party of Canada, as well as the leader of the party and several other members of Parliament, over comments published on their website in the so-called Cadman affair. My son turned to me and said, “He can’t do that, can he?” The answer, of course, was that “well, yes, he can.” The specific case fell outside of the scope of parliamentary privilege, and there was no legal barrier to it. At the same time, I shared my son’s discomfort with the notion that political issues between the parties could lead to litigation. This led to research into the scope of parliamentary privilege that was presented in 2009–10 at the annual conferences of the Atlantic Provinces’ Political Science Association and the British Association of Canadian Studies. That research forms the basis of Chapter 4 of this book. It concluded that our current structures of parliamentary privilege are ill suited to modern political practices . Lawsuits like the Prime Minister’s allegations against the Liberal party, I argued, should be understood as examples of strategic litigation against public participation. This, in turn, led to the observation that this was a relatively ignored topic in Canadian political science and that a fuller book-length examination of the topic would be a timely addition to the academic literature on Canadian public interest law. In pursuing a major book project, one requires the support of a collegial and intellectually stimulating environment. Accordingly, I need to thank x Acknowledgements my colleagues at the University of Guelph for creating a rich and dynamic environment for intellectual inquiry. In particular, thanks go to Troy Riddell and Dennis Baker, who share a commitment to studying the intersection of law and politics. Even though we might disagree about much, they are wonderful colleagues and I am proud to count them among my good friends. I would also like to thank Candace Johnson, Craig Johnson, Carol Dauda, David Macdonald, Tim Mau, Ian Spears, Jordi Diez, Janine Clark, Tamara Small, and the rest of the Department of Political Science at Guelph for their friendship and support. And I would like to thank my staff: Debbie Bowie, who keeps my life organized and without whom the department simply could not function; and Geri McCauley and Renée Tavascia, who both do such fabulous jobs. I also need to thank Laura Maclean, a student in our Environmental Governance program who was an invaluable research assistant. I also want to express my appreciation and thanks to Dr. O.P. Dwivedi, who sadly passed away shortly after this book was completed. O.P. epitomized what it is to be a scholar in the truest sense of the word. He was a remarkable man and he is greatly missed. This book was written while on a research leave after the completion of my first term as Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph. That leave was spent as a visiting scholar in the Department of Political Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s. I owe a particular debt to David Close, who facilitated and supported my coming to Memorial. I also need to thank Luke Ashworth, Head of Department at MUN, who provided me with office space and resources, but kindly made no real demands of me. Luke was working on his own manuscript throughout the year, and his support and encouragement were greatly appreciated. My time at MUN provided me with the space and time to read, think, and write. As anyone who has served as chair of department knows, these are resources that are in scare supply while dealing with the administrative realities of university life. Memorial University, St. John’s, and Newfoundland now hold special places in my life, and I hope that I am able to maintain my connection to them long into the future. Special thanks to Russ Williams, Amanda Bittner, Matt Kerby, Alex Marland, Miriam Anderson, Dimitrios Panagos, Scott Matthews , and Kelly Blidook. You were fabulous colleagues during my year in Newfoundland, and I greatly value your friendship. I owe a huge debt to Ryan Chynces, Brian Henderson, Lisa Quinn, Blaire Comacchio, and all the staff at Wilfrid Laurier University Press for their support, patience, and encouragement, as well as the anonymous [3.135.183...

Share