| This thesis examines the role performed by the Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the field of federal-provincial relations in late nineteenth-century Ontario. It attempts to highlight that the judiciary, when discerning the meaning of the British North America Act and various Dominion and provincial statutes, despite appearances, was not always adjudicating according to legal principles. While this period of judicial review has been examined extensively, the case study used in the thesis--McLaren v. Caldwell--is relatively neglected and serves to illustrate how difficult it was for the judges and law lords to maintain the appearance of judicial independence and impartiality. This study demonstrates that the judiciary, in the early stages of Canada's existence, entered the political arena when striking down or validating government action; a politicization of the courts which took place under the guise of legal formalism. |
