A return to classical federalism? : the significance of the securities reference decision

Summary: In this policy study, Barry Cooper, professor of political science at the University of Calgary, analyses the Supreme Court of Canada's (SCC) reference decision that setback the federal government's quest to install a single security regulator. Opponents of the proposed national regulator identified Ottawa's attempt as a deliberate intrusion into provincial jurisdiction and as a federal power grab. That the federally-appointed court unanimously ruled against the federal government was a surprise. Almost as surprising was to see the court's ruling reach back to the country's constitutional DNA, the division of powers established in the British North America Act of 1867 (now known as the Constitution Act, 1867).