Cooperative Federalism in Search of a Normative Justification: Considering the Principle of Federal Loyalty

Abstract

At first sight, federal loyalty does not mean much in Canadian constitutional law, if it means anything at all. However, as we will see in this paper, there are already some aspects of Canadian constitutional law which can be said to enshrine obligations pertaining to federal loyalty. Ultimately, what federal loyalty can bring to the debate in Commissioner of Firearms is a springboard from which to reflect on how and when the principle of cooperative federalism could be brought to bear in a consistent manner in division of powers cases.