The principles of constitutionalism and the rule of law lie at the root of our system of government. The rule of law, as observed in
Roncarelli v. Duplessis, 1959 CanLII 50 (S.C.C.), [1959] S.C.R. 121, at p. 142, is "a fundamental postulate of our constitutional structure". As we noted in the
Patriation Reference,
supra, at pp. 805-6, "[t]he 'rule of law' is a highly textured expression, importing many things which are beyond the need of these reasons to explore but conveying, for example, a sense of orderliness, of subjection to known legal rules and of executive accountability to legal authority". At its most basic level, the rule of law vouchsafes to the citizens and residents of the country a stable, predictable and ordered society in which to conduct their affairs. It provides a shield for individuals from arbitrary state action.
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[/FONT] 71 In the
Manitoba Language Rights Reference,
supra, at pp. 747-52, this Court outlined the elements of the rule of law. We emphasized, first, that the rule of law provides that the law is supreme over the acts of both government and private persons. There is, in short, one law for all. Second, we explained, at p. 749, that "the rule of law requires the creation and maintenance of an actual order of positive laws which preserves and embodies the more general principle of normative order". It was this second aspect of the rule of law that was primarily at issue in the
Manitoba Language Rights Reference itself. A third aspect of the rule of law is, as recently confirmed in the
Provincial Judges Reference,
supra, at para. 10, that "the exercise of all public power must find its ultimate source in a legal rule". Put another way, the relationship between the state and the individual must be regulated by law. Taken together, these three considerations make up a principle of profound constitutional and political significance.
http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1998/1998canlii793/1998canlii793.html
