Constitutional Roundtable with Justice Colin C.J. Feasby

The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights’ Constitutional Roundtables are an annual series of lunchtime discussion forums that provide an opportunity to consider developments in Canadian constitutional theory and practice.  The Constitutional Roundtable series promotes scholarship and aims to make a meaningful contribution to intellectual discourse about Canadian constitutional law.

We are pleased to be hosting Justice Colin C.J. Feasby for a lunchtime Constitutional Roundtable on March 3, 2026.

All are welcome * No RSVP Required * Light lunch provided

Title: Exploring the Margins of Constitutional Protection for Democracy

Abstract: Courts play an important role as the referees for democratic competitions.  The democratic rights in the Charter guarantee that courts may fulfill the referee function for federal and provincial elections.  Charter democratic rights do not extend to municipal elections, school board elections, band council elections, and referendums.  The Supreme Court of Canada also resisted the use of Charter s 3 concepts to protect lower order democratic processes under the aegis of freedom of expression in Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General).   Accordingly, the ability of courts to perform a referee function in relation to lower order democratic processes is limited, and those processes are vulnerable to predation by higher levels of government.  Justice Feasby’s presentation will question if there are different ways to look at democratic rights, fundamental freedoms, and lower order democratic processes that might afford more constitutional protection for such democratic processes.

Biography: Justice Colin C.J. Feasby graduated from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in 1998.  He later attended Columbia University where he earned an LL.M and J.S.D.  He practiced at Osler for over 20 years,  serving the Managing Partner of Osler’s Calgary Office for four years.  As a lawyer, Justice Feasby had an active trial and appellate practice acting for corporate clients as well as a significant pro bono public interest practice.  He appeared before many courts across the country, including the Supreme Court of Canada several times.  He has written extensively on constitutional law subjects, particularly concerning democracy issues.  He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2020 and then to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in 2021.  In his time as a justice, he has written many significant decisions including concerning Medical Assistance in Dying, the constitutionality of changes to regulations governing opioid prescription, the constitutionality of the Personal Information Protection Act, and the secession of Alberta from Canada.