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IMPORTANT RE SCC CASE English Montreal School Board v. Attorney General of Quebec
As mentioned in the Runnymede Newsletter, in anticipation of English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al., PrimaryDocuments.ca is releasing an extended commentary on the documentary history of the limitations of the notwithstanding clause: “Mapping the Limitations of the Notwithstanding Clause: The PrimaryDocuments.ca Drafting History for Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” (2025), by Charles Dumais, Michael Scott, & Charlie Buck. Footnote 26 was updated on November 12, 2025 as we noticed a small mistake–attributing the telex to BC, when it was from NFLD (discussing BC).
NEW BOOK IN PROGRESS: THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT:
including several never-published preliminary drafts of the British North America Act 1867, and the London Resolutions
WHAT IS A BOOK IN PROGRESS?
A “Book in Progress,” quite simply, is a publication that we at PrimaryDocuments.ca are working on, but which is not yet complete. However, due to the importance of the material both to the field of scholarship and law, we felt an obligation to release the book in this imperfect format. It is our intention to publish this book, once complete, in an eBook and print edition. In the meantime, we will be updating this book in the near future—both quantitatively and qualitatively.
This Book in Progress contains never-before-published drafts of the London Resolutions and British North America Act, 1867 drafts.
THE QUEBEC RESOLUTIONS, SECOND EDITION IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
Charles Dumais, The Quebec Resolutions: Including Several Never-Published Preliminary Drafts by George Brown and John A Macdonald and a Collection of All Previously-Published Primary Documents Relating to the Conference, October 10, 1864 – October 29, 1864, Second Edition (Calgary: Canadian Constitution Foundation, 2025).
PrimaryDocuments now has over 5,400 documents.
NEW REPORTS ON RELIGIOUS RIGHTS AND MINORITY RIGHTS
Report on Minority Rights in the Constitution Act, 1867
THE NOTWITHSTANDING CLAUSE (2025), BOOK IN PROGRESS
WHAT IS A BOOK IN PROGRESS?
A book in progress is a publication we at PrimaryDocuments.ca are working on, but is not yet complete. However, due to the importance of the material and its relevance to the current discussions on Quebec’s Bill 21 before the SCC, we felt that it was better to have the documents available to the public. This volume contains never-before-published drafts of the Notwithstanding Clause and a detailed drafting history of the clause as well as background memoranda.
View our first ever “book in progess” on the Notwithstanding Clause
DUE TO RECENT DISCOVERIES OF CHARTER DRAFTS NOT PREVIOUSLY RECORDED IN THE ACADEMIC LITERATURE (WHICH WILL BE PUBLISHED IN AN UPCOMING ACADEMIC PAPER AND ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR SITE), USERS ARE ADVISED TO USE THIS TABLE, WHICH HAS A REGULARLY-UPDATED DRAFTING HISTORY FOR EVERY CHARTER CLAUSE.
About Us
We seek to be the most complete word-searchable electronic repository of documents relating to the Canadian constitution.
Our aim is to make it possible for anyone —whether student, teacher, lawyer, or judge— to easily access the entire documentary record of what Canada’s leaders—as well as reasonable, well-informed Canadians—were thinking when they adopted the constitutional provisions that govern us today. Only by knowing this, can present-day Canadians know the meaning of our constitutional law.
You can see the documents in our collection, arranged either by Dates or by Keywords, in the corresponding section of the navigation bar.
