Cooperative Federalism v Parliamentary Sovereignty: Revisiting the Role of Courts, Parliaments and Governments

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the tension between cooperative federalism and parliamentary sovereignty in the Canadian constitutional context. This tension has prompted scholars to encourage the emergence of a court-imposed duty of loyalty, or a duty to act in good faith, imposed on governments when cooperative arrangements come to an abrupt end. This paper argues that it should not be up for courts to infer from the Canadian Constitution such a duty, but rather up for Parliament, legislative assemblies and governments to really tackle the vulnerability of cooperative arrangements.