Past Event

This presentation investigates the ‘living tree’ metaphor central to Canadian constitutional law, according to which the British North America Act, Canada’s original constitutional text, ‘planted in Canada a living tree capable of growth and expansion within its natural limits’. This metaphor figured prominently in the seminal ‘Persons Case’, which established that women had the right to be appointed to the Canadian Senate; and has had a significant impact since then on courts’ interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other parts of the Constitution. The presentation considers this metaphor and its role not only in its original textual and sociolegal setting but also in contemporary legal discourse in Canada. 

The presentation has both a broader and a narrower goal. The narrower one is to reveal the rhetorical subtlety and complexity of the ‘living tree’ metaphor as it functions in the ‘Persons Case’ — features largely erased in contemporary understandings of its significance. The broader one is to argue that ‘the details of legal discourse matter’ (J.M. Conley & W.M. O’Barr, 2006, Just Words, Chicago), providing a crucial tool for understanding, and sometimes challenging, the power of the law in society.

About the Presenter

Dr. Benjamin Shaer is a policy analyst, lawyer, and Adjunct Research Professor in Linguistics and Language Studies and Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University. He holds an A.B. (Classics and English) from Dartmouth College; a Dip.Ed. (TESL/English), M.Ed. (TESL), and Ph.D. (Linguistics) from McGill University; and a J.D. from the University of Toronto. Previous professional experience includes work as a teacher in Nunavik and as a university lecturer and researcher in Canada, France, and Germany. His current research focuses on legal discourse and in particular how constitutional and other legal texts are interpreted.