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The latest book by\u00a0York\u00a0Professor Emeritus John T. Saywell (left)\u00a0has won the John W. Dafoe Foundation Book Prize for best book about Canada and is a finalist for this year\u2019s Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing from the Writers\u2019 Trust of Canada.<\/p>\n
The Lawmakers: Judicial Power and the Shaping of Canadian Federalism, published in 2002 by University of Toronto Press and the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, won the Dafoe foundaton's prize in the category of distinguished writing by Canadians that contributes to the understanding of Canada and its place in the world. It is one of five finalists for the Writer\u2019s Trust award for enlarging our understanding of contemporary Canadian political and social issues.<\/p>\n
Saywell\u2019s book examines the critical role of the courts \u2013 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of Canada \u2013 in shaping Canadian federalism. He argues that the courts always have and still do \"make law\" \u2013 law that can be largely subjective and often bears little relationship to the text or purposes of the Constitution.<\/p>\n
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The $10,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize will be presented on May 28 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Each finalist receives $1,000.<\/p>\n
Saywell joined York as a history and social sciences professor in 1963,\u00a0 is founding dean of York\u2019s Faculty of Arts and\u00a0is a member of the York University Founders' Society.\u00a0He has written several books, including Canada: Pathways to the Present<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The Dafoe Foundation was established by friends and admirers of John Wesley Dafoe, editor of the Winnipeg Free Press<\/i> from 1901 until his death in 1944. One of Canada's most distinguished journalists and editors, he had a special interest in Canada's place in the world.<\/p>\n
The Shaughnessy Cohen prize was established in honour of the outspoken and popular MP from Windsor, Ont., who died in 1998.<\/p>\n
The Writers\u2019 Trust of Canada is a national charitable organization supporting writers through various programs and awards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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