Constitutional litigation and social policy: A case study of the Canadian Court Challenges Program

Statement of the problem. This research examines the Canadian Court Challenges Program, designed to allocate federal government funds for the purpose of using the courts to challenge the constitutionality of federal legislation on four points of equality law. These rights are protected by a component of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This Charter is the Canadian "Bill of Rights," enacted in 1982 which came into effect in 1985.; Procedure and/or methods. A research framework developed by the author is applied to twenty-two cases which received funding. The cases were identified via a series of national telephone interviews with intervenors and legal counsel representing a cross-section of interest groups, who selected the cases for both legal significance and social development potential.; The research provides an historic and descriptive qualitative analysis of program history. An in-depth qualitative analysis of the twenty-two cases is also provided. A background of major thematic, philosophical, and substantive issues in American and Canadian constitutional equality law is also provided.; Results. The results indicate that these cases--representing a variety of important social issues--demonstrate mixed results for contributing to a developing jurisprudence, law reform, and social policy. The study concludes with recommendations for funding and researching future social development cases.