Merging Public Law Silos and Canada's Evolving Constitutional Law Landscape

Canada's constitutional structure has been shifting in recent years. There have been no explicit declarations of change, but rather a more classically Canadian slow and subtle evolution. The fundamental principles which underlie the Constitution remain intact, but they have been modified to encompass new realities and respond to three significant trends in Canada. These trends are: the breakdown of traditional categories or silos of public law; the pervasive impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on all aspects of Canadian law, and the related expansion of the role of courts in society; and the continuing rise of the administrative state, with a growing role for boards and agencies in shaping public policy.