Constitutional Politics and Federalism

Are the constitutional politics discussed in the readings necessary for the survival of the Canadian federation or, perhaps, a hindrance in this respect? Historically, constitutional politics have proved to be a burden and we have seen numerous failures, and only minimal success. But because the Canadian Constitution is so intricately tied to Canadian federalism, it remains important to analyze how deep, and how important it exactly is. Critics may suggest, and even question that such …

…nature of Canadian federalism demands. And if this is to indicate the temporary use of constitutional conventions, and minor deviations by the government from the Constitution, so be it as Canada has proven itself to be capable of successfully withstanding such occurrences anyhow. Constitutional politics and the Canadian federation still have a long road ahead of them but both will travel this road together. "That Canada's constitution is unfinished business remains a dead certainty." (Smith, 2003:46)