Commissions of Inquiry: Praise or Reappraise?

Commissions of inquiry have had a significant role in the development of public policy in Canada. Historically, Canadian governments have relied on these bodies to consider broad matters of national importance, and the recommendations from these commissions have sometimes led to profound changes in the way in which we are governed. Recently commissions have been used to examine specific events such as the deployment of troops in Somalia, or contaminated water in Walkerton, as well as broader policy issues such as the future of Canada's public health system. As instruments for both ensuring public accountability and reforming public policy, commissions of inquiry have become an ingrained part of our traditions of governance. This timely and important volume brings together leading academics and practitioners, former commissioners, and international observers in an assessment of the role and conduct of commissions of inquiry in Canada. It provides a comprehensive source of legal doctrine in relation to commissions of inquiry and it also brings a political science perspective to the function and pathology of this kind of investigative and policy-making instrument. The discussion of specific inquiries includes both criticisms and recommendations for improvement. The book will appeal to members of the public who want to know more about this often controversial public vehicle; journalists, political theorists, and legal scholars who have become observers, fans, or critics of inquiries; and those officials who find themselves involved in the operation of an inquiry. These authors' insights will be of particular value to those engaged in structuring and undertaking an inquiry, as well as to those individuals and agencies who find themselves within the scrutiny of a commission of inquiry. The book has its origins in a conference held in Kingston, Ontario in 1999, sponsored by the Law Commission of Canada. The editors and the publisher gratefully acknowledge the Commission's support.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Allan Manson and David Mullan Part One: Overview Canadian commissions of inquiry: an insider’s perspectives Thomas Berger Part Two: Securing Political and Governmental Accountability through Commissions of Inquiry Commissions of inquiry and governmental accountability: recent British experience AW Bradley Securing accountability through commissions of inquiry: a role for the Law Commission of Canada Robert Centa and Patrick Macklem Commentary David P Shugarman and Denis Lemieux Commissions of inquiry: some thoughts from New Zealand KJ Keith Part Three: Developing Policy by Royal Commission The complex relationship between inquiries and public controversy Liora Salter The policy inquiry: an endangered species? John D McCamus Challenging policy paradigms: women, royal commissions, and the public private divide Annis May Timpson Part Four: Who did What to Whom Inquiries Public inquiries and the legality of blaming: truth, justice, and the Canadian way Wayne Mackay and Moira G McQueen Commentary Ann Derrick Declaration of independence: examining the independence of federal public inquiries Tamar Witelson Interview with Mr Justice Gilles Letourneau, Somalia Commission Chair Tamar Witelson Part Five: The Methodology of Royal Commissions: How To Do It Effectively and the Legal Constraints The Bernado Investigation Review Justice Archie Campbell Procedural, strategic, and legal constraints upon a non-statutory inquiry: a case study Margaret Allars Part Six: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Royal Commissions and Reforming the Processes of Royal Commissions Public inquiries Bryan Schwartz Commentary Ann Chaplin Conclusion Interrogating inquiries Roderick A Macdonald Concluding comments Hudson N Janisch Lessons from Walkerton Allan Manson and David Mullan

About the Author :
Professor Mullan is recognized as one of Canada's foremost scholars in administrative law. He lectured at the Victoria University of Wellington, before joining the Queen's University Faculty of Law in 1971 where he has remained, apart from four years (1973-1977) at Dalhousie Law School. Professor Mullan has taught a range of private and public law courses, but his major area of academic interest has been administrative law, a field in which he has written extensively. He is co-author of Administrative Law: Cases, Text and Materials, now in its fourth edition, written in collaboration with faculty members at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto. He is also the author of the Administrative Law Title in the Canadian Encyclopedia Digest. Over the past 25 years, he has served as consultant on a number of law reform projects and is currently a panelist under Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement and a part-time member of the Ontario Human Rights Code Board of Inquiry. Professor Mullan has been a recipient of the Queen's University Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Queen's University Prize for Excellence in Research, and in 1996, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers' Award for Academic Excellence.