Runnymede Radio

Has the Charter strengthened Canadian constitutionalism, or has its interpretation by courts undermined the relationship between citizens, legislatures, and the judiciary? In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we visit Runnymede's UBCO Student Chapter, where Prof. Mark Mancini (TRU) explores one of Canada's most important constitutional debates with undergraduate students. Responding to ongoing acad...

Can Parliament restrict what its own members are permitted to say without violating the Constitution? Prof. Ryan Alford of Lakehead University's Bora Laskin Faculty of Law brought that question before the Supreme Court of Canada in a constitutional challenge to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act. The Court delivered its decision in Alford v. Attorney General o...

This Law & Freedom Flashback returns to a panel discussion from Law & Freedom 2026 examining recent jurisprudence and doctrinal developments concerning democratic rights and electoral fairness. Drawing on Fair Voting BC and Working Families, the panel considers these developments with particular attention to courts’ treatment of third-party participation in the electoral process. The discussion fe...

Earlier this year, Justice Malcolm Rowe of the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a two-part Runnymede lecture series on the Charter and liberal democracy across two cities in 24 hours. Part I, “How Misunderstanding the Charter Can Weaken Liberal Democracy” (March 3, 2026), was delivered at the University of Calgary. Justice Rowe considers what happens when the Charter is understood apart from the...

John Borrows (University of Toronto) and Erik De Lorenzi join Runnymede Radio to discuss a proposed framework for Indigenous Community Courts and the expansion of Indigenous self-government over the administration of justice. Drawing on examples including U.S. Tribal Courts, the Akwesasne Court, and proposed arrangements involving Yukon First Nations, the conversation examines how Indigenous Commu...

Mark Harding (University of Guelph) joins Runnymede Radio to discuss his book, Judicializing Everything? The Clash of Constitutionalisms in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, which Justice Malcolm Rowe of the Supreme Court of Canada referenced at length during his keynote address at Law & Freedom 2024. Comparing Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, Harding examines political and...

Collin May (University of Calgary) joins Runnymede Radio to discuss his new book, From Cancel Culture to Incarceration Culture: Prosecutorial Democracy and the Future of Cancellation. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, sociology, law, and his own experience being "cancelled" following his brief tenure as Chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission in 2022, May examines the distinction between can...

Andrea Lawlor (McMaster University) and Dave Snow (University of Guelph) join Runnymede Radio to discuss judicial councils, judicial discipline, and the institutions responsible for upholding accountability within Canada's judiciary. Drawing on their recent scholarship, Lawlor and Snow examine the role of the Canadian Judicial Council and provincial judicial councils, explaining how judicial misco...

Yonatan Green (Georgetown University) joins the Honourable Justice David Brown (Ontario Court of Appeal, retired) in this recording of an event hosted by Runnymede's Toronto Lawyer Chapter to discuss his book, Rogue Justice: The Rise of Judicial Supremacy in Israel. Green’s book examines claims that the Israeli Supreme Court has enlarged its role in ways that have reshaped the balance between bran...

Yonatan Green (Georgetown University) joins the Honourable Justice David Brown (Ontario Court of Appeal, retired) in this recording of an event hosted by Runnymede's Toronto Lawyer Chapter to discuss his book, Rogue Justice: The Rise of Judicial Supremacy in Israel. Green’s book examines claims that the Israeli Supreme Court has enlarged its role in ways that have reshaped the balance between bran...

Professor Eric Adams (University of Alberta) and Professor Dwight Newman (University of Saskatchewan) join us for a friendly debate on the interpretation of section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Recorded before a standing-room-only audience at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in November 2025, the discussion took place prior to Professor Adams' appointment to the Court...

Professor Eric Adams (University of Alberta) and Professor Dwight Newman (University of Saskatchewan) join us for a friendly debate on the interpretation of section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Recorded before a standing-room-only audience at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in November 2025, the discussion took place prior to Professor Adams' appointment to the Court...

Eleanore Sunchild, KC (Sunchild Law) and Professor Tom Flanagan (University of Calgary) join us to discuss residential school denialism and recent proposals to prohibit it under the Criminal Code. The conversation explores the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, competing claims about residential school history, and the evidence underlying contemporary debates over residential school denialism. S...

Eleanore Sunchild, KC (Sunchild Law) and Professor Tom Flanagan (University of Calgary) join us to discuss residential school denialism and recent proposals to prohibit it under the Criminal Code. The conversation explores the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, competing claims about residential school history, and the evidence underlying contemporary debates over residential school denialism. S...

This episode of Runnymede Radio is the second half of a two-part series on the Borderland Pride v. Township of Emo case before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. In 2024, the Tribunal ordered Emo Township and Mayor Harold McQuaker to pay damages after the Township refused requests to proclaim Pride Month and display a Pride flag. Part II features an original interview with Josh Dehaas, Interim Lit...

This episode of Runnymede Radio is the second half of a two-part series on the Borderland Pride v. Township of Emo case before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. In 2024, the Tribunal ordered Emo Township and Mayor Harold McQuaker to pay damages after the Township refused requests to proclaim Pride Month and display a Pride flag. Part II features an original interview with Josh Dehaas, Interim Lit...

This episode of Runnymede Radio is the first half of a two-part series on the Borderland Pride v. Township of Emo case before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Part I features an original interview with Doug Judson, lawyer and applicant in the proceedings against Emo Township and Mayor Harold McQuaker, following the Tribunal’s 2024 decision ordering damages after the Township refused requests to...

This episode of Runnymede Radio is the first half of a two-part series on the Borderland Pride v. Township of Emo case before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Part I features an original interview with Doug Judson, lawyer and applicant in the proceedings against Emo Township and Mayor Harold McQuaker, following the Tribunal’s 2024 decision ordering damages after the Township refused requests to...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we feature an original interview with Professor Philippe Lagassé (Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University). Lagassé discusses his recent writing on the possible existence of a Crown prerogative to “keep the peace” within Canada, and what this would mean for the constitutional foundations of executive power. Using the Emergencies Act...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we feature an original interview with Professor Philippe Lagassé (Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University). Lagassé discusses his recent writing on the possible existence of a Crown prerogative to “keep the peace” within Canada, and what this would mean for the constitutional foundations of executive power. Using the Emergencies Act...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we share a live recording from a bilingual event hosted by the Runnymede Society’s McGill University Chapter, featuring Professor Maxime St-Hilaire (Université de Sherbrooke) and Professor Victor Muñiz-Fraticelli (McGill University). The panel examines the enduring debate between legal positivism and natural law theory, focusing on whether law can be understood...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we share a live recording from a bilingual event hosted by the Runnymede Society’s McGill University Chapter, featuring Professor Maxime St-Hilaire (Université de Sherbrooke) and Professor Victor Muñiz-Fraticelli (McGill University). The panel examines the enduring debate between legal positivism and natural law theory, focusing on whether law can be understood...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we feature a recording from a Western University Chapter panel with Professor Dwight Newman (University of Saskatchewan) and Professor Michael Coyle (Western University). Following a previous episode examining the drafting and interpretation of Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, this conversation explores how contemporary jurisprudence is shaping the scop...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we feature a recording from a Western University Chapter panel with Professor Dwight Newman (University of Saskatchewan) and Professor Michael Coyle (Western University). Following a previous episode examining the drafting and interpretation of Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, this conversation explores how contemporary jurisprudence is shaping the scop...

In this episode of Runnymede Radio, we feature an original interview with Michael Scott (PrimaryDocuments.ca). Scott discusses his ongoing research on the drafting history of Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982—which recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights—drawing on archival materials and his work with PrimaryDocuments.ca, a database of historical documents relating to t...