The back-from-the-dead Law Commission of Canada is a distinctly Liberal institution that serves to churn out “independent and non-partisan” policy advice that coincidentally supports government priorities — or pulls them to the left. The genius in all this? It hides in plain sight.
Stephen Harper knew this very well, which is why in his first nine months in the prime minister’s office, he defunded it (and 66 other programs). The commission had existed since 1996, brought to life under Jean Chrétien, and was shuttered in 2006. Between those years, its projects covered child abuse in Canadian care, spousal rights and gay marriage, and lastly, electoral reform.
