Dundurn publisher Kirk Howard inquired if I’d update my two prior Dundurn books on referendums to take account of Brexit and other dramatic developments on the “direct-democracy” front, which led to this new work. I’m grateful to Kirk for his attentive interest in keeping books on important Canadian subjects before the reading public, and am proud to be associated with him in this endeavour as he continues to navigate Canada’s largest independent publishing house through the choppy waters of the always challenging book business.
As with my other recent Dundurn titles on Canadian political subjects — Foreign Voices in the House, The Big Blue Machine, and Our Scandalous Senate — I’ve been pleased to work with seasoned editor Dominic Farrell of Dundurn. Dominic’s dedicated professionalism ensured thematic clarity to this work and the structure of its contents. By the same token, Michael Carroll has again devoted his intelligence and deployed his sharp eyes in the manuscript’s detailed edit, resulting in a book of great accuracy. Thank you, Dominic and Michael.
Others at Dundurn also contributed to this book’s evolution, and I especially thank vice-president Beth Bruder, executive assistant and contracts and administration services manager Sheila Douglas, sales and marketing director Margaret Bryant, sales manager Synora Van Drine, managing editor Kathryn Lane, director of design and production Jennifer Gallinger, senior designer Laura Boyle, project editor Elena Radic, ebooks and IT manager Carmen Giraudy, and publicist Kendra Martin.
Esteemed constitutional expert and political scientist Peter Russell has contributed a foreword, for which I am most grateful, to clarify the importance of ballot-question democracy in our Canadian context.
Peter, in addition to his outstanding work as a teacher and public commentator and leader of the Canadian Political Science Association and Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Government, is a published author of well-deserved acclaim. In saluting his accomplishments, I wish to also acknowledge the legion of those who, like Peter, study, teach, write, and care about the role of citizens in democratic countries. Especially, I tip my hat to those who advance ways that the “initiative” process can empower people to not merely elect representatives to legislatures but also to write, circulate, debate, and more directly adopt important measures.