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The Federal Court of Canada: A History, 1875-1992
1997 
by Ian Bushnell. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 1997.
The Federal Court of Canada, existing from 1875 to 1971 under the name Exchequer Court of Canada, has occupied a special place in the court structure of Canada. Established principally to adjudicate legal disputes in which the Canadian government was involved, it has, since its change of name in 1971, become primarily an administrative court dealing with federal administrative tribunals. As a federal court within the nation its very existence provokes discussion and debate as the various provincial court systems claim a position of primacy for the adjudication of legal disputes. Central to the history of the Court is an examination of the judges who have sat on its bench. Who the judges were is presented, and their work is examined, with particular focus on the judges’ views of the proper approach to decision-making.
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Contents
Contents
Foreword ix
R. ROY McMURTRY and PETER N. OLIVER
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Illustrations xxi
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction 5
2 Establishment 18
PART 2: THE FIRST COURT, 1875-1887
3 Jurisdiction 27
4 The Judges 35
5 The Work 42
6 Appeals and Attacks 50
PART 3: THE SECOND COURT, 1887-1971
7 Court of Claims 59
8 The Burbidge Years, 1887-1908 (I) 64
9 The Burbidge Years, 1887-1908 (II) 81
10 The Cassels Years, 1908-1923 93
11 The Maclean Years, 1923-1942 104
12 The Thorson Years, 1942-1964 124
13 The Jackett Years, 1964-1971 138
PART 4: THE THIRD COURT, 1971-1992
14 Creation of the Federal Court 157
15 An Administrative Court 168
The Jackett Years, 1971-1979
16 The New Court 185
17 The Life of the Court 195
18 The Work of the Court 203
19 Relationship with the Supreme Court 220
20 The Mystery of Section 101 232
21 A Lamentable Situation 248
The Thurlow Years, 1980-1988
22 The Judges 261
23 The Work of the Court 271
24 The Charter 282
25 A Matter of Status 292
The Iacobucci Years, 1988-1991
26 The Life of the Court 307
27 The Work of the Court 315
PART 5: THE FOURTH COURT, 1992
28 The Court Today 331
Appendix A: The Judges 345
Appendix B: Interviews 354
Notes 357
Index of Cases 427
Index of Names and Terms 438
Publications of The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History 449
Reviews
‘Ian Bushnell has thoroughly research the legal sources, including the case law and the secondary literature.... The result is a solid institutional history, focusing not on the substantive law within the court's jurisdiction but on the court as an institution made up of judges and established for the settling of disputes.’ Carol Wilton, American Journal of Legal History, vol 42, 1998, p. 463.
‘Readers will find here a fount of information on a wide variety of social, economic and legal issues. They will also enjoy the judicious use of oral interviews to supplement the legal record for the post-1945 era. There is a series of clearly produced portrait's of the Court's judges....Finally, the book is unusually well written for a subject that is complex in nature and quite technical in its language. The Court itself should be proud of a history that probably goes far beyond anything that it expected to achieve in such short order.’ Louis A. Knafla, Manitoba Law Journal, vol. 26, 1998, p. 145.
Donald Fyson, Revue d’histoire de l’Amerique française, Vol 53, 2000, p. 608.
Patricia Hughes, Canadian Historical Review, Vol 80, 1999, p. 709.
Murray L. Smith, Advocate (Vancouver Bar Association), Vol 57, 1999, p. 931.
Peter McCormick, Canadian Public Administration, Vol 41, 1998, p. 462.
Terry McDonald, British Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol 13, 1998, p. 400.