The Centre for Constitutional Studies welcomes posts for our ‘Pandemic Powers and the Constitution Blog’.

The Centre for Constitutional Studies is publishing a series of Blog posts exploring various constitutional issues arising from government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blog will be updated regularly with posts by a variety of authors from across Canada and will include re-postings from other blogs, with permission.

We welcome submissions exploring any of the several constitutional issues engaged by recent government actions since the COVID-19 pandemic – federalism, potential violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Aboriginal rights. The Centre encourages diverse and interdisciplinary perspectives and welcomes posts from a variety of disciplines – law, political science, and history.

The Blog aims to provide an accessible forum for education, thought, and discussion about the unprecedented actions by governments across Canada and elsewhere in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What jurisdictional issues are at stake? How can the Charter section breaches be justified? What powers can a government assume and what are the limits of those powers in a ‘health emergency’?

Post lengths should be approximately 1,200 to 1,500 words, written in plain language, where possible. Posts should include footnotes.

If you wish to submit a Blog post that deals with a constitutional issue arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, contact Aleena Reitsma, Public Legal Education Coordinator, at ccsedu@ualberta.ca.

Please contact the Centre with any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will consider contributing your expertise to this important subject.