National Network for Equitable Library Service

Thomas Isaac looks at the broad picture of trends that are developing in the law and the background, highlighting aspects of Canadian law that impact Aboriginal peoples and their relationship with the wider Canadian society. While covering issues such as Aboriginal and treaty rights, constitutional issues, land claims, self-government, provincial and federal roles, the rights of the Métis, and the Indian Act, this book pays particular attention to the Crown’s duty to consult.

The rationalist ideal has been met with cynicism in progressive circles for undermining the role of emotion and passion in the public realm. By exploring the social and political implications of the emotions in the history of ideas, contributors examine new paradigms for liberalism and offer new appreciations of the potential for passion in political philosophy and practice.

Children and youth occupy important social and political roles, even as they sleep in cribs or hang out on street corners. Conceptualized as either harbingers or saboteurs of a bright, secure tomorrow, they have motivated many adult-driven schemes to effect a positive future. But have all children benefited from these programs and initiatives? Lost Kids examines adults' misgivings about, and the inadequate care of, vulnerable children.

In Mixed Company explores taverns as colonial public space and how men and women of diverse backgrounds – Native and newcomer, privileged and labouring, white and non-white – negotiated a place for themselves within them. The stories that emerge unsettle comfortable certainties about who belonged where in colonial society.

Growing inequality within Chinese society has led to public indignation, petitions to Party and state agencies, strikes, and large-scale protests. This book examines the intersection between the Chinese government’s preoccupation with the “protection of social stability” (weiwen), and its legal commitments to protect human rights. Drawing on case studies, Sarah Biddulph examines China’s response to labour unrest, medical disputes, and public anger over forced housing demolition.

Both lionized and vilified, Claire L’Heureux-Dubé has shaped the Canadian legal landscape – and in particular its highest court. Only the second woman on the Supreme Court of Canada, L’Heureux-Dubé anchored her approach to cases in their social, economic, and political context. This compelling biography takes a similar tack, tracing the experience of a francophone woman within the male-dominated Quebec legal profession – and within the primarily anglophone world of the Supreme Court.

Despite being dubbed “the world’s oldest profession,” prostitution has rarely been viewed as a legitimate form of labour. Instead, it is often criminalized, sensationalized, and polemicized. In Selling Sex, Emily van der Meulen, Elya M. Durisin, and Victoria Love present a more nuanced view of the sex industry. They bring together a vast collection of voices – including feminists, researchers, advocates, and sex workers of every stripe – to challenge dominant narratives surrounding sex work.

Canada is at a critical juncture in the evolution of its communications policy. Will our information and communications technologies continue in a market-oriented, neoliberal direction, or will they preserve and strengthen broader democratic values? Media Divides offers a comprehensive, up-to-date audit of communications law and policy.

In recent decades, educators have been seeking ways to improve outcomes for Indigenous students. Yet most Indigenous education still takes place within a theoretical framework based in Eurocentric thought. Teaching Each Other provides an alternative framework for teachers working with Indigenous students – one that moves beyond merely acknowledging Indigenous culture to one that actually strengthens Indigenous identity.

Canada is often held up as an example of a healthy democracy. However, the Canadian public is less enthusiastic about the way our democracy works. This first-of-a-kind book approaches the “democratic deficit” from the perspective of everyday Canadians and assesses the performance of Parliament and the media in light of their perceptions and expectations. In doing so, a number of chapters highlight the disjuncture between perceptions and performance.