THE SUPREME COURT, FEDERALISM AND METAPHORS OF MODERATION

Abstract

At the time of its centenary twenty-five years ago, the Court was commonly described as the umpire of Canadian federalism. This anniversary essay argues that the umpire metaphor, although imperfect, has continuing meritas an ideal for the judicial function in the post-Charter era . Reintroducing the umpire metaphor into constitutional discourse would focus attention on federalism issues. Moreover, its relatively modest scope for judicial power, by comparison to the 'dialogue' metaphor, comports with democratic principles and the Rule of Law. This renders it an attractive ideal for constitutional adjudication beyond the federalism context.