Chrétien and Canadian Federalism, Politics and the Constitution, 1993–2003

Extract

Chrétien and Canadian Federalism, Politics and the Constitution, 1993–2003, Edward McWhinney, Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2003, pp. 220.

Edward McWhinney, a legal scholar and former professor of political science, sat as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra through much of the Chrétien period. The title of the book promises an examination of the Chrétien era in terms of its legacy for Canadian federalism and the constitution. Sadly, the book fails to deliver. Although the author is quick to insist that his work is not a “personal biography” (12), but rather an analysis framed through “participant observation,” the examination of the past decade's events is largely a form of political memoir, with little by way of a sustained analysis of Canadian federalism or the constitution.