Classifying Law

• Canadian laws originate from three sources:

1.The Canadian Constitution2.Elected Government Representatives (statute law)

3.Previous Legal Decisions (common law)

• As you learned in chapter one, common law can be traced to ancient, unwritten laws in England.

• It was common to all and has a general application.• Is also called CASE LAW because its sources include

the decisions made by judges in previous cases.• Constantly evolves as judges decide new cases.• Canadian courts still rely on STARE DECISIS (relying

on previous decisions / cases).• When there is new information (like new technology,

or new morals), judges can reject previous decisions and create a new precedent. This is called DISTINGUISHING A CASE.

• Laws that are passed by elected representatives in the form of acts.

• Acts become the law when they pass through a formal procedure in Parliament or provincial legislatures.

• Many of our laws today are statutes – common law decisions that have been codified.

• Statutes override previous common law. When no statute exists to deal with a situation, the common law will prevail.

• Statutes and common law co-exist in Canada. When a judge interprets and applies a statute, that decision sets a precedent and. From that point on, similar cases must be interpreted in the same way by all lower courts.

• Each level of government – federal, provincial, and municipal – has the power to enact legislation in its own area of jurisdiction (authority).

• Ex: In 2008, Canada set a new precedent for gun laws (more serious consequences for gun crimes). Also in 2008, the age of consent went from 14 to 16 (the first time it was raised since 1892).

• The federal government has jurisdiction over criminal law, federal penitentiaries, employment insurance, banking / currency, marriage and divorce, and postal services.

• Everyone in Canada is subject to these laws.

• The federal government can, and does, pass legislation in other areas as well. For example, by law, cigarette manufacturers must label their packages in a certain way (warnings). The government enacted this statute to protect the public by regulating what it considers to be a dangerous product.

• They have the jurisdiction (power / authority) to make laws affecting hospitals, police forces, property rights (animals, land, liquor, vehicles, merchandise) highways, provincial jails.

• The Federal government can step in if they feel an issue is between two or more provinces or is of national interest.

• That’s why there are sometimes different laws in different provinces. Can you think of any examples?

• Municipal or local governments make laws called BYLAWS, which are regulations that deal with local issues, such as how high the backyard fence should be, who should clear the snow from the sidewalk, or how often the garbage should be collected.

• Research the bylaws in your community: Is there a noise bylaw? Could you keep chickens in your backyard? Can you have an open fire pit? Can you use pesticides on your lawn in your community? Is there a curfew in your community? Is there a bylaw for dangerous or unsightly properties? Is there a bylaw for recycling / garbage collection?

• Will be picked up on the regular scheduled day as per the enclosed Garbage Collection Schedule;

• - Must be placed at the curb-side or roadside no earlier than 7:00 pm on the day preceding collection and no later than 8:00 am on the day of collection and in such a location as to not impede or obstruct pedestrian or vehicle traffic;

• - Must not be placed on top of any snow bank or in an area not cleared of snow or ice;

• - Will not be picked up if it is placed in an opaque green, black, orange, clear or any other bag, except a blue or green transparent bag as prescribed by By-law # 09-23.

• *** Take note that Friday’s garbage pick-up is strictly reserved for Yard Waste (grass clippings, leaves, thatch).

• Native bands established under the federal Indian Act are like local governments.

• Each has authority to make bylaws that apply to their lands.

• Another form of Aboriginal government can be established under a self-government agreement with the government. A self-governing group has wider law-making powers than a band does (marriage, adoption, education, health services).

• The Canadian Constitution is a document that determines the structure of the federal government and divides law-making powers between the federal and provincial governments.

• Constitutional Law limits the powers of government by setting out certain basic laws, principles and standards that all other law must adhere to. It overrides all other law.

• If a law is found to be in violation with the constitution, it is struck down by the courts as “unconstitutional”.

• Polygamy Laws (articles: who, what, when, where, why? And also video: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/01/08/bc-polygamy-winston-blackmore.html

• Marijuana Laws http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/rights_freedoms/clips/3583/

• Video: abortion law unconstitional• http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/constitution/topics/1

07-788/

• Video: Native Rights• http://archives.cbc.ca/society/native_issues/clips/1

2699/

• http://www.charterofrights.ca/en/13_00_03

• Watch (under case laws for fundamental freedoms) the video clips. There are four of them, about 3 mins each.

• http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/rights_freedoms/• LOTS of options to listen to; choose some

• Answer #1 and #2 and discuss as a class• Choose either # 3 or #4 and complete for your first individual

assignment. Due on Friday. 10 marks3. Include the article (it could also come from a website). A) Write

a half page summary (which covers who, what, when, where, why and how it’s related to what we have discussed so far in class: be as specific as you can be); B) What is your opinion? Do you think it is a good “law” or an irresponsible / unfair one? Explain your opinion. Is it “timely” / reflective of a change in society, over the years? Explain your opinion. Do you think this law will continue to change as society develops? In what way?

4.Answer the question as it is posed in the book. Name each bylaw, then, in 1/3 – ½ page for EACH, tell me what you think of that bylaw, with some detail. Is it necessary? Is it fair? Do you think most people in your community follow it? Do you think it will be long-lasting? Why or why not? Can you think of a bylaw that is, in your opinion, necessary in your community?

• Read this case (page 39) and answer questions 1-3. Discuss in class. Take note of the feedback Mr. Leger gives on this case and why it’s important to this chapter: international law

• International Law includes laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another.

• International law is created by CUSTOM: consistent, general practice which becomes accepted as law by the international community.

• When nations sign treaties (international agreements), they consider them “the law”.

• For example, Canada has many agreements with other countries: extradition treaties (agreements that arrange to send people to other countries to be tried for crimes committed there).

• Free-trade agreements: agreements between Canada and the US, for example, to remove trade barriers, to make trade easier.

• Defence Treaties: NATO, for example. • There are even agreements between nations on

such issues as who is responsible for space debris, and the control of satellites.

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2010/06/17/ott-bipolar-extradiction.html

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/05/bc-marc-emery-extradiction.html

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2010/01/26/acta-copyright-secret-discussions.html

• Who, what, when, where, why, how is it connected to what we are studying?

• http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/defence/topics/1538/

• Not only countries, but some organizations have international legal status. They help develop laws and in some case, settle disputes. The UN is an example. Members signed a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 (after WWII).

• UN peacekeepers can be sent to warring nations to help restore and maintain peace, but their power is limited.

• Technology is helping in efforts to share information and to carry out responsibilities.

• http://www.un.org/en/

• Within a country, a monarch (king or queen) or a constitution (set of rules / laws / protections) determines the law.

• All laws made and enforced in a country are called DOMESTIC LAWS, and include case law (based on past cases) and statute law (created by different level of government).

• When you go to another country, you are bound by THEIR domestic (internal) laws.

• When you travel outside Canada, remember, you are not protected by our laws. If you break a law elsewhere, there is little your government will / can do for you.

• Answer the three questions and discuss answers with the class.

• Take note of Mr. Leger’s comments, in particular, how this case gives us an example of domestic laws.

• One category of domestic laws is substantive laws: this defines the rights, duties, and obligations of citizens and government.

• Some examples: the right to own and protect property, the right to enter into a legal contract, the right to seek remedies if the contract is broken. An examples is Section 15 of the Tobacco Act, which makes it law that cigarette manufactures MUST label their packages a certain way (health hazards, health effects).

• Another example is the definition of “careless driving” in the Highway Traffic Act; you can be charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident, or “careless driving”.

• http://archives.cbc.ca/health/public_health/clips/12665/• Tobacco Act (CBC coverage of key issue): lots of video

options here

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/08/09/nb-rcmp-traffic-rcmp-621.html• Driving in NB (article)

• http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/webextras/net_security/distraction_regulations.html?net_security

• Driven to Distraction (Distracted Driving article, Canadian overview)

• Read this article and answer the 2 questions• Discuss with the class• Take note of what Mr. Leger says about how this

case is relevant to what we are studying

• This is the law that gives the methods (procedures) used to enforce the rights, duties and responsibilities found in substantive laws (Think “The Tobacco Act” and “The Highway Act”)

• The “procedure” includes everything from gather evidence properly, to following the legal requirements for lawful arrest, to running the trial “properly”

• Police can’t simply arrest people on “made up” charges; all people with “lawful authority” must follow certain procedures. This ensures that all citizens are treated fairly.

• Substantive Law can be divided into two categories: a) public law and b) private law.

• It regulates the relationship between the government and its citizens (constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law).

A)CONSTITUTIONAL: All public laws are subject to THE CANADIAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, B

B)ADMINISTRATIVE: the many government departments and boards that play a role in watching the relationship between people and government (so, if you are the victim of a crime and want $ for injuries; if you were injured at work and want $ for injuries; if you don’t like the new construction in your neighbourhood and want a way to get heard on the issue) and

C)CRIMINAL LAW: this one gets the most notice! It prohibits (stops) and punishes behaviour that we have decided, as Canadians, cause harm to others, such as murder, robbery and assault. All crimes are described in the Criminal Codes of Canada and also in the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other acts.

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/03/21/sexworkers-challenge.html• Sex Trade workers use The Charter to challenge The

Criminal Code

• Know it!

• Read and answer numbers 1 and 2

• Also known as CIVIL LAW, covers all areas of law that deal with relationships between people and between people and organizations (not the government).

• The main purpose of this law is to regulate how we act and to compensate people who have been harmed by others.

• Private law refers to TORTS (civil injuries), contracts, and family law. It includes such things as wills and estates, property law and employment law.

• “Woman seeks $1.5 million for damages after finding the head of a rat in her burger.”

• Have you heard headlines like this? Most of these claims are based on laws in the legal branch known as TORTS. When someone is injured or harmed as a result of NEGLIGENCE or a DELIBERATE ACTION of others, the injured party can seek compensation.

• Most people do what they can to avoid being held responsible (“slippery when wet” signs, as an example). The onus is on the plaintiff to prove to the court that the defendant’s actions caused the damage.

• In 2005, Marina Bai, a Russian astrologer, sued NASA for £165 million for “disrupting the balance of the universe”. She claimed that the space agency’s Deep Impact space probe, which was due to hit a comet later that year to harvest material from the explosion, was a “terrorist act”. A Moscow court accepted Russian jurisdiction to hear the claim but it was eventually rejected.

• In 2006, a young man from Jiaxing, near Shanghai, found himself in legal trouble after failing to take advice before putting his soul up for sale on an online auction site. The posting was eventually removed by the auctioneer and the seller was told that the advert would be reinstated only if he could produce written permission to sell his soul from “a higher authority”.

• http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2741049.ece

• In 2004, Timothy Dumouchel, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin sued a television company for making his wife fat and transforming his children into “lazy channel surfers”. He said: “I believe the reason I smoke and drink every day and my wife is overweight is because we watched the TV everyday for the last four years”. The case kept at least two of America’s then 1,058,662 lawyers occupied for a while, but did not go to the Supreme Court.

• In 2004, Frank D’Alessandro, a court official in New York, sued the city for serious injuries that he sustained when a toilet he was sitting on exploded leaving him in a pile of porcelain. He claimed $5 million compensation. Reflecting on the demanding physical therapy in which he must now engage every morning before work, D’Alessandro declared: “It’s a pain in the ass to do all this stuff.”

• Cathy McGowan, 26, was overjoyed when a DJ on Radio Buxton told her that she had correctly answered a quiz question and had won the competition prize: a Renault Clio. Ecstasy collapsed into despair, however, when she arrived at the radio station and was presented with a 4-inch model of the car. In 2001, she sued and a judge at Derby County Court ruled that the now defunct station in Derbyshire had entered into a legally binding contract with Miss McGowan and ordered its owners to pay £8,000 for the real vehicle.

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/02/22/vaccine-us-court-ruling-adverse-drugs.html• Tort Case: vaccine causes harm?

• http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/TortPersonalInjury.aspx• CHECK THESE OUT!

• Where you buy a burger or a new car, or hire a DJ for your party, you are entering into a contractual agreement.

• Contract law deals with everyday transactions in which people buy good and services

• When people are satisfied, there are no disputes.• When people are not satisfied, the courts are

often asked to make sure terms are enforced. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDxYDzVoWC8• Annie’s Car

• Warner Brothers Pictures v. Nelson (1937)• Nelson (aka Bette Davis) suddenly walked away from an

exclusive acting contract. The plaintiff sued and asked for an injunction preventing her from further breach. The court issued an injunction preventing the actress from acting for other companies. This did not force her to act for the plaintiff so it was thought to respect...

• "...the principle that specific performance of a contract of personal service will never be ordered.... (Nor will the court) grant an injunction in the case of such a contract to enforce negative covenants if the effect of so doing would be to drive the defendant either into starvation or to specific performance of the positive covenants.”

• (http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/Contracts/LawArticle-93/Part-8-Time-Limits-Breach-Remedies.aspx)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDxYDzVoWC8• Annie’s Carhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=k76VXKzGQgM The basics of a contract

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1F9-A5mSew&feature=related

• Covers such matters as marriage, property division upon separation, custody and support of children and divorce.

• It specifies the requirements of obtaining a divorce and may determine how much a separated parent can have access to his or her children.

• The Government of Canada has a Divorce Act, and because it is a federal law, it applies fully and equally in all parts of Canada.

• Canada has a "renovated" Divorce Act, which became law in 1968. This new law added to the requirement to show physical cruelty, mental cruelty or adultery and now allows for a divorce if the husband and wife have been separated for at least one year.

• This "no-fault" divorce means that most divorce applications to the courts are no longer contested. The parties usually agree on the divorce and other things like child custody and support.

• You have to file a petition (which asks lots of questions) and judge is required to ask about change of reconciliation (but judges no longer “beat a dead horse”) on this issue. Generally, within 31 days the divorce is in effect.

• Duhaime.org

• A farmer walks into a lawyer's office. "May I help you," asks the lawyer."Yea," replies the farmer. "I want to git one of those dayvorces."The lawyer says: "do you have any grounds?"The farmer says: "yes; I got about 140 acres.""No, no." Says the lawyer. "Do you have a case?""Oh, a Case," replies the farmer. "No, but I have a John Deere.""You don't understand," says the lawyer. "Do you have a grudge?""Yeah," says the farmer. "That's where I park my John Deere.""Listen," says the lawyer. "Do you have a suit?""Yes, sir," replies the farmer. "And I wear it to church every Sunday.""Look, sir," says the lawyer. "Does your wife beat you up or anything?""Nope," replies the farmer. "We both get up at 4:30."Finally the lawyer says: "Okay. WHY do you want a divorce?""Oh," says the farmer. "Because I can never have a meaningful conversation with her."

• This covers relationships between employees and employers. Federal and provincial governments have created laws that regulate the workplace and balance the rights of the employer and employee.

• In Canada, laws protect children under a certain age from being forced to work, restrict the number of hours a person is obligated to work, and specify the minimum wage employers must pay.

• It governs hiring and firing practices, protection from discrimination and harassment, safety rules and procedures, and has laws that regulate unions and their activities.

• Read “Insolence: The Art of Insulting the Boss”• http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/

EmploymentLabourLaw/LawArticle-147/Insolence-The-Art-of-Insulting-The-Boss-and-Getting-Fired.aspx

• Regulates ownership rights in all property including the ownership and transfer of real estate. Most of our property law can be found in statutes.

• Estate law deals with how property is divided after someone’s death. Lawyers make sure that their clients have legally binding wills that show how they want their property to be divided.

• Estate law also resolves disputes if someone challenges the terms of a will, and also governs if a person dies without a will.