Thursday, April 25, 2013

Book Notes: Dodek on the Canadian constitution, no longer out of print



Adam Dodek, Ottawa constitutional law scholar, offers the Canadian constitution to readers. He explains:
In the U.S., you can walk into any bookstore and buy a copy of the American Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, etc.  I can tell you that there are lots of them.  I collect them and I own at least 20 different versions.
The Canadian Constitution will be the first of its kind: the only book that contains the whole text of our Constitution and introduces and explains it to Canadians.
Before I wrote this book, the only version of the Constitution was published by the Government of Canada.  As a good Canadian and a law professor, I encourage my students to buy it every year.  A few years ago, something happened that really pissed me off.  I was informed  that the Constitution was out of print.  It was not available in print form.  Worse yet, it appeared that no one but me noticed.  I knew right then and there that I would have to write this book and the sooner the better.
The government does still make the constitution texts available online. But Dodek also offers an index, a glossary, a timeline, and a short history.
 
Follow @CmedMoore