Andrea Lawlor: Canada’s courts are fair game for criticism
Inside Policy Talks14 Maj

Andrea Lawlor: Canada’s courts are fair game for criticism

Courts have become central players in some of Canada’s biggest political and moral debates – especially since the advent of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That’s raised hard questions about their role, what accountability mechanisms exist, and how Canadians understand the place of the judicial branch within their system of government.

Like any other institution, courts depend on public trust which must be earned and sustained.

McMaster University political science professor Andrea Lawlor has been tracking how Canadians perceive this institution. She joins Inside Policy Talks to discuss her findings.

Lawlor’s research, conducted with Acadia University’s Erin Crandall, finds that Canadians still generally trust the courts, but this confidence has shown signs of decline, and it appears attitudes are becoming more politicized.

On the podcast, Lawlor tells Peter Copeland, deputy director of domestic policy at MLI, that her research found little shift in how Canadians on the political left perceive the courts. However, she has observed a moderate decline in support from those on the right – particularly tied to court decisions on moral issues like medical assistance in dying.

However, Lawlor says there is one type of court ruling that tends to register a public reaction across the political spectrum: criminal sentencing.

“Those tend to uniformly push public opinion,” says Lawlor. “I think there was some consensus across the political spectrum that Canadians were dissatisfied … and they certainly wanted the legislature to step in.”

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(136)

Rainer Knopff and Ted Morton: Canadian judges ran amok with the Charter

Rainer Knopff and Ted Morton: Canadian judges ran amok with the Charter

Special episode: Peter Copeland, acting director of domestic policy at MLI, sat down last month with eminent Canadian political scientists Rainer Knopff and Ted Morton. 25 years ago Morton and Knopff'...

6 Aug 1h 2min

Carl Trueman: Euthanasia, transgenderism, and transgression

Carl Trueman: Euthanasia, transgenderism, and transgression

By almost every material measure life has become safer, richer, and more convenient... so why do many people seem more anxious, lonely, and unhappy?We often explain this malaise in economic or psychol...

30 Juli 1h 4min

Garry Clement: Foreign actors see Canada as the lane of least resistance

Garry Clement: Foreign actors see Canada as the lane of least resistance

For years Canada seemed to be the more peaceful part of North America. But that narrative is changing.Recently a Toronto police officer was shot while investigating a series of shootings in the city, ...

23 Juli 51min

Rob Henderson: Stigma and expectations will make your life better

Rob Henderson: Stigma and expectations will make your life better

For young men, there used to be “a ton of societal pressure on you to make something of yourself.” That’s one of many positive culture norms that we’ve now lost, says author Rob Henderson.Today, “some...

16 Juli 1h 1min

Christine Van Geyn and Ryan Alford: Canadian courts imagine wild scenarios to avoid punishing criminals

Christine Van Geyn and Ryan Alford: Canadian courts imagine wild scenarios to avoid punishing criminals

Canada’s judges have become “completely divorced from reality” in the reasoning they use to bat down mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes, says Christine Van Geyn, interim executive director...

9 Juli 49min

Joel Blit: The 3 stages of the AI revolution

Joel Blit: The 3 stages of the AI revolution

Some of the boldest predictions about Artificial Intelligence have forecast that white-collar workers are soon to become obsolete.This comes as rapidly advancing AI appears more and more in our day-to...

25 Juni 1h 5min

Michael Bonner: Liberalism is in crisis

Michael Bonner: Liberalism is in crisis

Liberalism is clearly on the ropes. To many, the threats originate from what they consider the outside: populism, authoritarianism, misinformation, and polarization. But to others, the wounds appear s...

11 Juni 1h 18min

Christopher Dummitt: Canada must teach its national story

Christopher Dummitt: Canada must teach its national story

We are in a moment of heightened focus on Canadian national identity.Ever since Donald Trump threatened to annex Canada, many Canadians have responded with the assertion that Canadian identity is uniq...

4 Juni 44min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
p3-krim
aftonbladet-daily
aftonbladet-krim
flashback-forever
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-krimstad
tv4-nyheterna-story
rss-krimreportrarna
rss-vad-fan-hande
de-fyras-gang
motiv
politiken
spar
mannen-utan-spar
rss-flodet
rss-frandfors-horna
grans
rss-aftonbladet-krim
olyckan-inifran