(2011) 54 The Supreme Court Law Review (2d) 143-166.
I was invited to contribute this piece as part of a commemorative panel on the Patriation Reference at the Osgoode 2010 Constitutional Cases Conference. While most people analyze the Reference for what it says about constitutional conventions, I took a different approach. I wanted to discuss the Reference AS a reference – as the culmination of many decades of development of the advisory function. I argue, as well, that the Reference is properly understood as a precursor of the modern constitutional method in Canada. This paper has generated tremendous interest since it was published two years ago. And here I thought I was the only person who thinks references are totally fascinating.