Interest groups and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: interveners at the Supreme Court of Canada

Abstract

In recent years, particularly since the entrenchment of the Charter of Rights in 1982, the Canadian court system has become an important forum for the activity of interest groups. However, there have been no systematic efforts to map out the extent of interest group activity in the courts. This thesis begins the task of mapping out the activity of interest groups in the Canadian judicial system. It outlines the history of interest group intervention in the Supreme Court of Canada before 1982. It then presents numerical data on the incidence and patterns of interventions by interest groups and others in the Charter of Rights cases at the Supreme Court. The thesis critically examines recent theoretical advances in the United States that attempt to explain why interest groups go to court. It also examines whether interveners can be considered strictly "private" actors. The thesis concludes by critically examining the Canadian literature on interveners and the judicial process.