Papers by Charlotte P Hoffman
Canadian Journal of Law & Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 2021
In 1887, Canada was in a fervour over so-called "combines," a term used to cover price-fixing sch... more In 1887, Canada was in a fervour over so-called "combines," a term used to cover price-fixing schemes, pool agreements, trusts, and other cartel arrangements. The public debate led to the passage in 1889 of the Anti-Combines Act, the world's first modern competition statute, enacted a year prior to the United States' Sherman Antitrust Act. But while Canada acted before its neighbour to the south, the United States was omnipresent in the Canadian debates in four ways: as a benchmark against which the Canadian economy and the combines problem should be judged; as a model for potential legal action; as a potential economic liberator; and as the very source and propagator of the combines problem. Canadians thus alternately presented the United States as saviour or devil, as paragon or antithesis. The result was a paradox of a sort: Canadians borrowed American ideas in order to avoid becoming American.
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 2013
Queen's Law Journal (forthcoming)
In 1889, in response to growing concern about the role of cartels and other "combines" in the eco... more In 1889, in response to growing concern about the role of cartels and other "combines" in the economy, the Canadian parliament passed the Anti-Combines Act, the world’s first modern competition statute. A tentative first step, the Act made it a misdemeanour to enter into agreements that were previously unenforceable under the contract law restraint of trade doctrine. The Act, however, was not a success, with only a single prosecution (which resulted in acquittal) brought under it prior to its amendment in 1900. Since that time, it has been broadly criticized in the academic literature, with critics alleging three reasons for its failure: that it extended only to conduct already "unlawful" under the restraint of trade doctrine; that it criminalized only conduct already indictable under the crime of conspiracy; and that it was an intentional failure, a "political sham". Each of these critiques, however, is built on a flawed understanding of the restraint of trade doctrine, reading back into the law in 1889 two House of Lords’ decisions from the 1890s, Mogul Steamship v McGregor, Gow (1892) and Nordenfelt v Maxim Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition (1894), which made it substantially more difficult to prove agreements were unreasonable vis-a-vis the public interest. Though the Act would not have been the panacea intended by its chief sponsor, Nathaniel Clarke Wallace, it would have been a useful tool against the most pernicious of combine agreements, had the law remained as it was at the time of enactment. The Anti-Combines Act should thus be remembered not for its failure, but as a Canadian legislative innovation hampered by judicial decisions rendered in Westminster.
From 1758 to 1928, Nova Scotia had a bicameral Legislature made up of the House of Assembly and t... more From 1758 to 1928, Nova Scotia had a bicameral Legislature made up of the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council. In the period following Confederation, the Legislative Council came under increasing fire as unnecessary, expensive, and anachronistic. Yet, for a period of half a century, all efforts to abolish it failed. Following the landslide Conservative victory in the provincial election of 1925, however, incoming Premier Edgar Nelson Rhodes led a crusade to abolish the Legislative Council once and for all, a crusade that ultimately led to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Westminster. Armed with a Privy Council opinion permitting him to dismiss existing members of the Legislative Council and appoint an unlimited number of replacements, on February 24, 1928, Rhodes was able to push through an abolition bill. At the end of the 1928 session, the Legislative Council ceased to exist, its powers devolved upon the House of Assembly and Lieutenant-Governor. This thesis examines the history of this battle, including the nature of the Nova Scotia constitution, Rhodes’ initial push for abolition, his appeal to Ottawa when that proved unsuccessful, the litigation before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and the final abolition of the Legislative Council.
❊ ❊ ❊ ❊
De 1758 à 1928, la Nouvelle-Écosse a eu une législature bicamérale constituée de la Chambre d’assemblée et du Conseil législatif. Au cours de la période suivant la Confédération, le Conseil législatif fut incessamment attaqué, accusé d’être inutile, coûteux et anachronique. Cela étant, durant une période d’un demi-siècle, tous les efforts pour l’abolir faillirent. Suite à l’écrasante victoire des Conservateurs aux élections provinciales de 1925, cependant, le Premier Ministre entrant Edgar Nelson Rhodes lança une croisade pour abolir définitivement le Conseil législatif, qui arriva jusqu’au comité judiciaire du Conseil privé à Westminster. Armé d’une opinion du Conseil privé lui permettant de démettre les membres existants du Conseil législatif et de nommer un nombre illimité de remplaçants, Rhodes put faire voter un projet de loi d’abolition le 24 février 1928. A la fin de la session législative de 1928, le Conseil législatif cessa d’exister, et ses pouvoirs furent dévolus à la Chambre d’assemblée et au lieutenant-gouverneur. Ce mémoire étudie l’histoire de cette bataille et se penche notamment sur la nature de la constitution de Nouvelle-Écosse, l’impulsion initiale donnée par Rhodes à la bataille pour l’abolition, son appel à Ottawa lorsque l’impulsion initiale fut infructueuse, le litige à la Cour suprême de Nouvelle-Écosse et au comité judiciaire du Conseil privé, et enfin sur l’abolition finale du Conseil législatif.
Conference Presentations by Charlotte P Hoffman
In 1928, Nova Scotia finally abolished the upper house of its legislature, the Legislative Counci... more In 1928, Nova Scotia finally abolished the upper house of its legislature, the Legislative Council, after a fifty year battle that included attempts to abolish the Council locally, appeals to the United Kingdom to amend the British North America Act, substantial reform along the lines of the 1911 imperial Parliament Act, and, finally, litigation before the Privy Council in London. Throughout this extended debate, the Council was generally portrayed by politicians and perceived by the public as an unnecessary relic, though the Council itself frequently fought these representations, arguing that it played a vital role in maintaining the quality of Nova Scotian legislation.
While most of these representations of the Council were verbal or written, inevitably many of them were visual. The editorial cartoons of Donald McRitchie of the Halifax Herald regularly portrayed the Council as an elderly man with a long beard and usually balding. Without writing a word, McRitchie’s message was clear: the Legislative Council was past its prime and should be retired. In contrast, the images produced by the Council itself generally emphasized the dignity of the office, with official photographs showing Councillors at their desks working. But, in an era when newspapers published relatively few photographs, the Councillors’ images of themselves simply could not compete with those coming from their opponents.
In his presentation, Charles Paul Hoffman will examine some of these visual portrayals of the Nova Scotia Legislative Council and use them as a means of telling the strange story of its reform and abolition.
Teaching Documents by Charlotte P Hoffman
Uploads
Papers by Charlotte P Hoffman
❊ ❊ ❊ ❊
De 1758 à 1928, la Nouvelle-Écosse a eu une législature bicamérale constituée de la Chambre d’assemblée et du Conseil législatif. Au cours de la période suivant la Confédération, le Conseil législatif fut incessamment attaqué, accusé d’être inutile, coûteux et anachronique. Cela étant, durant une période d’un demi-siècle, tous les efforts pour l’abolir faillirent. Suite à l’écrasante victoire des Conservateurs aux élections provinciales de 1925, cependant, le Premier Ministre entrant Edgar Nelson Rhodes lança une croisade pour abolir définitivement le Conseil législatif, qui arriva jusqu’au comité judiciaire du Conseil privé à Westminster. Armé d’une opinion du Conseil privé lui permettant de démettre les membres existants du Conseil législatif et de nommer un nombre illimité de remplaçants, Rhodes put faire voter un projet de loi d’abolition le 24 février 1928. A la fin de la session législative de 1928, le Conseil législatif cessa d’exister, et ses pouvoirs furent dévolus à la Chambre d’assemblée et au lieutenant-gouverneur. Ce mémoire étudie l’histoire de cette bataille et se penche notamment sur la nature de la constitution de Nouvelle-Écosse, l’impulsion initiale donnée par Rhodes à la bataille pour l’abolition, son appel à Ottawa lorsque l’impulsion initiale fut infructueuse, le litige à la Cour suprême de Nouvelle-Écosse et au comité judiciaire du Conseil privé, et enfin sur l’abolition finale du Conseil législatif.
Conference Presentations by Charlotte P Hoffman
While most of these representations of the Council were verbal or written, inevitably many of them were visual. The editorial cartoons of Donald McRitchie of the Halifax Herald regularly portrayed the Council as an elderly man with a long beard and usually balding. Without writing a word, McRitchie’s message was clear: the Legislative Council was past its prime and should be retired. In contrast, the images produced by the Council itself generally emphasized the dignity of the office, with official photographs showing Councillors at their desks working. But, in an era when newspapers published relatively few photographs, the Councillors’ images of themselves simply could not compete with those coming from their opponents.
In his presentation, Charles Paul Hoffman will examine some of these visual portrayals of the Nova Scotia Legislative Council and use them as a means of telling the strange story of its reform and abolition.
Teaching Documents by Charlotte P Hoffman
❊ ❊ ❊ ❊
De 1758 à 1928, la Nouvelle-Écosse a eu une législature bicamérale constituée de la Chambre d’assemblée et du Conseil législatif. Au cours de la période suivant la Confédération, le Conseil législatif fut incessamment attaqué, accusé d’être inutile, coûteux et anachronique. Cela étant, durant une période d’un demi-siècle, tous les efforts pour l’abolir faillirent. Suite à l’écrasante victoire des Conservateurs aux élections provinciales de 1925, cependant, le Premier Ministre entrant Edgar Nelson Rhodes lança une croisade pour abolir définitivement le Conseil législatif, qui arriva jusqu’au comité judiciaire du Conseil privé à Westminster. Armé d’une opinion du Conseil privé lui permettant de démettre les membres existants du Conseil législatif et de nommer un nombre illimité de remplaçants, Rhodes put faire voter un projet de loi d’abolition le 24 février 1928. A la fin de la session législative de 1928, le Conseil législatif cessa d’exister, et ses pouvoirs furent dévolus à la Chambre d’assemblée et au lieutenant-gouverneur. Ce mémoire étudie l’histoire de cette bataille et se penche notamment sur la nature de la constitution de Nouvelle-Écosse, l’impulsion initiale donnée par Rhodes à la bataille pour l’abolition, son appel à Ottawa lorsque l’impulsion initiale fut infructueuse, le litige à la Cour suprême de Nouvelle-Écosse et au comité judiciaire du Conseil privé, et enfin sur l’abolition finale du Conseil législatif.
While most of these representations of the Council were verbal or written, inevitably many of them were visual. The editorial cartoons of Donald McRitchie of the Halifax Herald regularly portrayed the Council as an elderly man with a long beard and usually balding. Without writing a word, McRitchie’s message was clear: the Legislative Council was past its prime and should be retired. In contrast, the images produced by the Council itself generally emphasized the dignity of the office, with official photographs showing Councillors at their desks working. But, in an era when newspapers published relatively few photographs, the Councillors’ images of themselves simply could not compete with those coming from their opponents.
In his presentation, Charles Paul Hoffman will examine some of these visual portrayals of the Nova Scotia Legislative Council and use them as a means of telling the strange story of its reform and abolition.