The Evolution of the Limitation Clause

The evolution of the limitation clause reveals a rigorous and changing political discourse about the nature of rights and limitations. While the larger issue in the entrenchment debate focussed on whether legislatures or courts were best suited to protect Canadians\u27 interests, a fundamental concern underlying the debate was the scope of permissible limitations on protected rights. Many commentators argued that an explicit limitation clause was not necessary because courts would fashion the appropriate limits on rights. Provincial and federal drafters, however, rejected the assumption implicit in this suggestion: that the Charter was to provide an exhaustive statement of all values fundamental in Canada. Drafters, particularly those representing the provinces, insisted that enumerated rights contain explicit limitations so that they would not unduly impair governments from pursuing their policy agendas. Since the debate about entrenched rights was placed on the national political agenda in the late 1960s, a requirement for provincial support was a provision enabling governments significant latitude in enacting limits on protected rights. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms reflects this demand. An essential purpose of the limitation clause in section 1 is to ensure that legislators, in certain circumstances, be able to ensure the primacy of non-enumerated values over specified Charter rights

Parliamentary Engagement with the Charter: Rethinking the Idea of Legislative Rights Review

Canada has contributed an important idea to constitutional thought about how to conceive of legislative responsibilities under a bill of rights. This idea, which can be referred to as legislative rights review, suggests that rights should become a core consideration when evaluating proposed legislation. The idea has been borrowed by several other parliamentary jurisdictions, despite the fact that it has never functioned effectively in Canada. The paper argues that Canada should revisit the benefits associated with legislative rights review, and discusses reforms to revitalize how it operates in Canada, which are influenced by the United Kingdom’s adaptation of the idea of legislative rights review

Vetting bills in the Scottish Parliament for legislative competence

Unlike Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament, primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament is not immune from judicial review. The devolved legislature is a parliament of limited competence, the boundaries of which are found in both statute and the common law. Accordingly, an Act of the Scottish Parliament (ASP) "is not law" in so far as, inter alia, it "relates to" a reserved matter, or is incompatible with a Convention right or with EU law, and, in extreme circumstances, it is also invalid to the extent that it violates the fundamental principle(s) of the rule of law. Where the Parliament does legislate beyond those limits, courts have the power to set aside the offending Act

The t(8;21) chromosomal translocation in acute myelogenous leukemia modifies intranuclear targeting of the AML1/CBFalpha2 transcription factor

Targeting of gene regulatory factors to specific intranuclear sites may be critical for the accurate control of gene expression. The acute myelogenous leukemia 8;21 (AML1/ETO) fusion protein is encoded by a rearranged gene created by the ETO chromosomal translocation. This protein lacks the nuclear matrix-targeting signal that directs the AML1 protein to appropriate gene regulatory sites within the nucleus. Here we report that substitution of the chromosome 8-derived ETO protein for the multifunctional C terminus of AML1 precludes targeting of the factor to AML1 subnuclear domains. Instead, the AML1/ETO fusion protein is redirected by the ETO component to alternate nuclear matrix-associated foci. Our results link the ETO chromosomal translocation in AML with modifications in the intranuclear trafficking of the key hematopoietic regulatory factor, AML1. We conclude that misrouting of gene regulatory factors as a consequence of chromosomal translocations is an important characteristic of acute leukemias

Parliamentary Engagement with the Charter: Rethinking the Idea of Legislative Rights Review

Canada has contributed an important idea to constitutional thought about how to conceive of legislative responsibilities under a bill of rights. This idea, which can be referred to as legislative rights review, suggests that rights should become a core consideration when evaluating proposed legislation. The idea has been borrowed by several other parliamentary jurisdictions, despite the fact that it has never functioned effectively in Canada. The paper argues that Canada should revisit the benefits associated with legislative rights review, and discusses reforms to revitalize how it operates in Canada, which are influenced by the United Kingdom’s adaptation of the idea of legislative rights review

An AML-1 consensus sequence binds an osteoblast-specific complex and transcriptionally activates the osteocalcin gene

Tissue and cell-type specific expression of the rat osteocalcin (rOC) gene involves the interplay of multiple transcriptional regulatory factors. In this report we demonstrate that AML-1 (acute myeloid leukemia-1), a DNA-binding protein whose genes are disrupted by chromosomal translocations in several human leukemias, interacts with a sequence essential for enhancing tissue-restricted expression of the rOC gene. Deletion analysis of rOC promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase constructs demonstrates that an AML-1-binding sequence within the proximal promoter (-138 to -130 nt) contributes to 75% of the level of osteocalcin gene expression. The activation potential of the AML-1-binding sequence has been established by overexpressing AML-1 in osteoblastic as well as in nonosseous cell lines. Overexpression not only enhances rOC promoter activity in osteoblasts but also mediates OC promoter activity in a nonosseous human fibroblastic cell line. A probe containing this site forms a sequence specific protein-DNA complex with nuclear extracts from osteoblastic cells but not from nonosseous cells. Antisera supershift experiments indicate the presence of AML-1 and its partner protein core-binding factor beta in this osteoblast-restricted complex. Mutations of the critical AML-1-binding nucleotides abrogate formation of the complex and strongly diminish promoter activity. These results indicate that an AML-1 related protein is functional in cells of the osteoblastic lineage and that the AML-1-binding site is a regulatory element important for osteoblast-specific transcriptional activation of the rOC gene

Subcellular partitioning of transcription factors during osteoblast differentiation: developmental association of the AML/CBF alpha/PEBP2 alpha-related transcription factor-NMP-2 with the nuclear matrix

The subnuclear location of transcription factors may functionally contribute to the regulation of gene expression. Several classes of gene regulators associate with the nuclear matrix in a cell type, cell growth, or cell cycle related-manner. To understand control of nuclear matrix-transcription factor interactions during tissue development, we systematically analyzed the subnuclear partitioning of a panel of transcription factors (including NMP-1/YY-1, NMP-2/AML, AP-1, and SP-1) during osteoblast differentiation using biochemical fractionation and gel shift analyses. We show that nuclear matrix association of the tissue-specific AML transcription factor NMP-2, but not the ubiquitous transcription factor YY1, is developmentally upregulated during osteoblast differentiation. Moreover, we show that there are multiple AML isoforms in mature osteoblasts, consistent with the multiplicity of AML factors that are derived from different genes and alternatively spliced cDNAs. These AML isoforms include proteins derived from the AML-3 gene and partition between distinct subcellular compartments. We conclude that the selective partitioning of the YY1 and AML transcription factors with the nuclear matrix involves a discriminatory mechanism that targets different classes and specific isoforms of gene regulatory factors to the nuclear matrix at distinct developmental stages. Our results are consistent with a role for the nuclear matrix in regulating the expression of bone-tissue specific genes during development of the mature osteocytic phenotype