Course or Seminar Category: Constitutional and Administrative Law

Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law

This course will provide a critical survey of state law as it relates to Indigenous peoples in Canada. The focus will be on the following topics: the historical context and constitutional framework; Aboriginal rights and title; self-government; treaties and treaty rights; and introduction to the Indian Act; and the authority and obligations of the federal and provincial governments.

This course fulfills the prerequisite requirements for the Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources and Governments.

Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law

This substantive law course will explore the interactions between Canadian common law and Indigenous law, primarily Anishinaabe law. The content will be viewed through the lens of Indigenous worldviews. Topics will include, but are not limited to: Indigenous sources of law; historical context and constitutional framework re: Indigenous Peoples; Aboriginal Rights, Title and the Doctrine of Discovery; treaties; resource rights and consultation; and the Indian Act and Identity. The course will be presented from a practitioner’s perspective working within Anishinaabe communities, with attention to practical intersections between the various topics. This course fulfills the prerequisite requirements for the Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources and Governments.

Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law

This course provides a critical survey of state law as it relates to Indigenous peoples and lands in what is now known as Canada.

Topics may include but are not limited to: historical context and constitutional framework; the laws of Indigenous peoples, especially as they interact with Canadian law; Aboriginal rights and title; self-government; treaties and treaty rights; the Indian Act; the obligations of the federal and provincial governments; and Indigenous belonging and identity.

This course fulfills the prerequisite requirement for the Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources and Governments. This course also satisfies the Indigenous and Aboriginal Law Requirement.

Family Law I

The course is intended to provide an introduction to the legal regulation of the family in Canadian and provincial law. The course is divided into six sections in order to facilitate an examination of the creation of the family unit, the regulation of the ongoing family, and the problems of family breakdown.

The first three classes present an introduction to various definitions of the family and provides relevant sociological and demographic context to the range of viable definitions. An overview of the seminal issues and tensions in family law will be canvassed. The introductory materials also cover the constitutional dimensions of family law.

The introductory materials are followed by a series of classes on the creation of the family. Several weeks of classes will cover adult relationship formation (including marriage) and the creation of parent-child relationships including adoption and reproductive technologies.

This is followed by a series of classes on the dissolution of the family. It is in this section that students will be exposed to the technicalities of divorce, along with topics such as the private ordering of dissolution (via mechanisms such as contract, mediation, and collaborative lawyering).

The fifth section covers the consequences of dissolution for adults by an examination of property division on dissolution, dealings with the matrimonial home, and spousal support.

The sixth and final section of the course deals with the consequences of family dissolution for children and covers issues such as custody and access, and child support.

In examining the rights and responsibilities of family members, we will explore questions such as: What is a family? What is a spouse? What is a parent? The answers to these questions are no longer as settled as they once seemed. We will consider the law’s answer to these questions, and the extent to which the legal regulation of the family is responding to changing and diverse family forms. Attention will be given to the issues of gender, race and class.

The course will be taught from a critical and policy-oriented perspective. The course emphasizes the role of law in defining and enforcing family arrangements, and the rights and responsibilities of family members. The course pays particular attention to law reform and policy choices in the legal regulation of the family in Ontario. The objective of the course is to provide a social, political and economic context within which legislative policies and judicial approaches can be understood and critically evaluated.

Family Law I

The course is intended to offer an overview of family law and to provide a foundation for later, more specialized seminars or research projects. It provides an introduction to some of the issues and problems relating to law and the family, focusing on three contexts: the creation of the family unit, the regulation of the ongoing family, and issues arising at family breakdown. Topics to be explored include marriage, reproduction, adoption, child care, family violence, child protection, divorce, property, support, domestic contracts, custody and access, and dispute resolution.

The course is taught from practical and a critical and policy-oriented perspective. The objective of the course is to learn how family law works in Ontario, and to under the social, political and economic context within which legislative policies and judicial approaches can be understood and assessed.

Immigration Law

This course begins with an overview of the Canadian immigration system and international migration patterns. The basic features of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Regulations will then be discussed including: temporary residence, family sponsorship, economic immigration, humanitarian applications, removal and inadmissibility. Embedded in this discussion will be an overview of how immigration decision-making takes place and the reviewability of immigration administrative decisions. A portion of the course will be devoted to looking at current topics in immigration law.

Criminal Procedure

This course will provide students with an overview of the Canadian criminal process, with a special attention given to the limitations imposed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It will begin with an exploration of police investigative powers. The authority of Canadian police to search/seize, question, detain, and arrest will all be considered in detail. The exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence, as well as the availability of other constitutional remedies, will also be addressed. The course will then shift to a consideration of the criminal process after charges are formally brought, including intake procedures, bail, disclosure, plea, plea bargaining, prosecutorial discretion, and the right to a trial within a reasonable time. If time allows, some trial and post-trial issues may be considered, including jury selection, res judicata, and appeals. Throughout, various theoretical perspectives on criminal law and process will be discussed. The course will also seek to introduce key historical connections and important points of comparison between criminal procedure in Canada and the United States, primarily in terms of their constitutional regulation, as well as with the common law of England.

Bankruptcy & Insolvency Law

The lingering effect of Covid 19, supply chain challenges, war in Ukraine, inflation, tariff wars- the world is facing uncertain and challenging times. These challenges will effect financial stability of Canadian businesses and individuals. Some, no doubt, will become insolvent. How do we address the societal and practical consequences of these insolvencies?

Bankruptcy and insolvency laws provide a framework for restructuring or liquidating insolvent businesses or rehabilitating insolvent individuals.

This course will take a practical approach to reviewing the principal insolvency and restructuring regimes in Canadian law – bankruptcies, receiverships and restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act or the proposal provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. In addition to learning the substantive and procedural rules with respect to each regime, we will consider the practical implications of insolvencies with respect to various stakeholders such a workers, retirees, pensioners, landlords and governments.

This course combines an analysis of the relevant statutory material and case law with an understanding of the policy choices in insolvencies, as well as the different roles which an insolvency system may play in contemporary society.

Canadian Federalism

Federalism is back in vogue and more relevant to public law in Canada than ever. Issues such as the federal implementation of a carbon tax and multiple regulatory responses to the COVID-19 pandemic provide a perfect framework and lens to examine federalism in action. This course will build on the limited coverage of the federal division of powers in first year Public and Constitutional Law courses. The course has two general purposes: first, to broaden students’ understanding of the judicial interpretation of the division of powers, particularly in areas not covered in first year; and second, to provide a deeper understanding of our institutions of government and continuing issues of constitutional reform. Areas that my be covered include the impact of unwritten constitutional principles, the separation of powers and the respective roles of the Crown, Parliament and the legislatures, and the courts in ensuring respect for constitutionalism, amending formulas; and selected topics in federalism (doctrines of pith and substance, interjurisdictional immunity and paramountcy, powers over trade and commerce; peace order and good government; criminal law, environmental regulation and the administration of justice.) Issues of constitutional change that may be covered include Parliamentary reform, ethics and accountability, recognition of Indigenous self-government, and the accommodation of Quebec (and Alberta) nationalism. The course will also engage in some comparative analysis with other constitutional democracies.

Administrative Law

This course is an introduction to the law governing administrative and regulatory decision-making and its interaction with the courts.

The administration (essentially the executive branch of government) implements legislative policy and delivers government services in fields such as public health and safety, immigration, labour relations, social benefits, securities regulation, business licensing and approvals, communications and broadcasting, and environmental protection. The administration also incorporates numerous ‘court like’ tribunals, such as land tribunals, labour arbitrators, immigration appeals boards, or human rights commissions, which adjudicate disputes and implement policy outside of the courts.

The course does not focus heavily on a single substantive area of law or policy but more on the role of the courts in reviewing administrative and tribunal decision-making in various fields. It examines judicial oversight of administrative decision-makers based on doctrines of procedural fairness (how administrative decisions are made, the entitlement of individuals to participate in decision-making that affects them, and impartiality and independence of decision-makers) and substantive review (the degree to which courts will review the merits or outcomes of administrative decisions). The course also explores policy debates about the rules and principles in the field as well as theoretical themes arising from the relationship between the courts and other branches of the state. In these respects, the course examines foundational rules and principles applying across many areas of practice and policy-making.

Students are expected to read the assigned materials each week, typically including excerpts from a textbook or from statutes and prominent cases, and to be prepared for class. Problem-solving scenarios may be used in class to allow students to assess and track their understanding of the subject as we proceed.