Imagine this.  You lived in a Kingdom that wasn’t free or democratic.  You went about your business plying your trade, even employing some peasants to help.  Every now and then, the ruler came to you and asked for money.  You paid the tax without little accountability on how those monies were to be spent. The rulers set laws in motion that they themselves did not follow.  And, the next time the royal tax collector came your way, you got just a little miffed that even more of your hard earned money was to be transferred to this unaccountable and above-the-law ruler.  You talk to your compatriots, and you rebel.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is an ultra-simplified version of events that basically led to the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter.  It’s significance to those who study Westminster parliamentary democracy and common law has diminished somewhat over the years, but many, including me, consider it the first step toward our modern democracy.

Many have written about how the Magna Carta was top of mind for American constitutionalism, and the reason the same links haven’t been made about Canadian consitutionalism probably has more to do with the fact that we have become less studious of our pre-Charter constitutional heritage.

Let’s review some interesting links that I’ll make to the Magna Carta:

The Senate:  Why not start with the beleaguered institution.  The Magna Carta wasn’t so much an uprising of the demos (the people, the commoners) as it was about the barons who propped up the feudal economy.  The barons were oligarchs in many ways.  Parliamentary democracy combines the rule of the “one, the few, and the many.”  No law can be passed in our democratic system without the consent of all three.  The Senate was created in part to support the rule by the few part of that equation.

The “money bill” principle: Pretty clearly linked to the Magna Carta’s insistence that there should not be taxation without proper representation.  We know this to be true about American constitutionalism, but the same thing can and ought to be said about Canadian constitutionalism.

The rule of law: The much heralded free and democratic principle, which was the subject of many democratic thinkers in the 17th and 18th Century, was officially recognized in the Magna Carta.  It forced the ruler to establish laws that everyone, including the King himself, must follow.  It announced a willingness to avoid the arbitrary cherry picking of law enforcement and the administration of justice.

Judicial independence: This is a necessary feature of our modern democracy.  Common law traditions mean that similar future decisions should be judged as they were in the past.  Judges should be free from influence from the ruler and the ruled as a result.  And clause 39 of the Magna Carta even establishes trial by a jury of equals.

Freedom of expression: Commonly referred to as a Canadian Charter principle, the fact is that freedom of expression is a long standing British democratic principle and was the basis of what has been termed an “Implied Bill of Rights” that existed at Confederation – much before the Charter.  The essentially means you are free to disagree with the ruler without being persecuted for it.  That’s what happened with the Magna Carta: it provided a means to disagree with the ruler.  Our parliamentary system institutionalizes this opposition.  We have a loyal opposition as a result.

Look, the skeptics of the Magna Carta’s significance will all point to the fact that the strength of any one of these principles was directly linked to the willingness of future monarchs to cede to their subjects.  And history does not deny this truth, for it was many centuries later that democratic institutions were built that reflected some of these core concepts.  However, it should not be understated, that most constitutionalists from the 17th century onward kept coming back to the principles first ascribed in 1215.  The power and potency of the Magna Carta are still with us, and we owe it to our own heritage as Canadians to pay our respects to this magnificent piece of history.

Here’s the awesome part  – an original version of the Magna Carta is in Canada and is touring the country as part of its 800th birthday!  This is a splendid opportunity to witness what was the first step, in many ways, to our very own country and its modern government.