This seminar provides an introduction to mental health law, legal policy and practice in both civil and criminal contexts. One portion of the course focuses on the criminal justice system and mental health: fitness assessments, findings of “not criminally responsible”, Ontario Review Board dispositions, and mental health courts. The civil law portion of the course covers civil mental health detention, mandatory community treatment, as well as the law of treatment capacity and substitute decision-making. Additional topics may include: financial capacity and powers of attorney, guardianship of property and personal care, elder law, capacity to instruct counsel, ethical responsibilities of counsel when representing clients with mental health or capacity issues, criminalization of persons with mental illness, use of seclusion and restraint, sexual expression within institutional settings, occupational health and safety issues in the psychiatric facilities or long-term care homes, and the use of psychiatric expert evidence in legal proceedings (risk assessments).
Typical seminars will cover substantive law and statutory provisions, as well as policy issues and examples of practice applications. Students are expected to actively participate via class discussion and a class presentation. Guest speakers will provide unique perspectives on several topics.
This seminar explores the dynamic and challenging field of health law, with a focus on practical issues. The course provides a survey of the legal framework and policy considerations underlying the cornerstone areas of health law, including: consent to treatment; mental capacity and substitute decision-making; professional regulation and governance; medical malpractice; emergency management and civil protection; and health information privacy. Practical and topical issues will be explored in the areas of: elder law (issues in long-term care facilities, retirement homes); the law of medical assistance in dying in Canada; human rights in health care; hospitals and health care facilities (including physician privileges, employment issues and tensions between administrators, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders); pandemic and emergency management; reproductive health and surrogacy; and research ethics.
Typical seminars will cover substantive law including case law and statutes, as well as policy issues and examples of applications in practice. Students are expected to actively participate via class discussion and a class presentation. Guest speakers will provide unique perspectives on particular topics. Students will be asked to attend (in person or through electronic means) a hearing in the health law field and to reflect on that proceeding in a midterm written paper. Through readings, class discussion and assignments, students will gain a foundation for a dedicated health law practice and an analytical framework for addressing health law issues as they arise in other practice areas.
This course deals with the law of patents in Canada. Patent law is one of the main headings of intellectual property law (along with copyrights and trademarks); trade secrets arise from a combination of contracts, equity and property law. The regime of patents protects inventions by granting inventors a limited monopoly of twenty years in exchange for disclosing the invention to society. The essential justification of the patent system is that it enables and rewards innovation. Arguments may also be made that patents afford a secure means by which inventions may be put to commercial use by investors. The course will examine the statutory basis of patent law in Canada, the judicial construction and interpretation of both primary and subsidiary regulations of Canadian patent law. The course will also locate developments in Canadian patent law in the context of international and regional transformations in the field. In this context, the course will explore contemporary controversies over the expansion of patent rights in biotechnology (from patenting mousetraps to patenting mice), and the shift from copyright protection to patent protection for computer programs. It is expected that at the end course, students would have a solid understanding of Canadian patent law as well as how international developments shape and influence Canadian patent law.
This course examines disability as a legal category with implications for the rights of persons with disabilities. Students will be introduced to alternative conceptions and theories of disability and impairment, and will examine how law constructs and regulates the lives of individuals with disabilities. Throughout the course we will examine statutory provisions and jurisprudence in different areas including: family, reproduction, death and dying, health, human rights, education, social assistance and economic supports to understand how disability is defined and regulated by law. This course analyzes and evaluates how law can best achieve the goals of social justice, inclusion and equality for individuals with disabilities.
This course offers in-class instruction in an interactive lecture/discussion/presentation format. Students are expected to read the assigned materials before class and to participate in analytical class discussions. From time to time, guests will be invited to speak about their area of expertise and/or their experience of law and disability.
This course is an introduction to the law of environmental protection in Canada. Major issues and contemporary developments in environmental law are brought to life via guest lectures, short films, news stories and scenarios drawn from real-world environmental controversies. Some of these scenarios are taken up via optional student moot courts and client briefings. Topics typically include common law environmental litigation (eg toxic torts, class actions, SLAPP suits); jurisdiction to regulate (eg federal division of powers, local government powers, inherent Indigenous jurisdiction); air and water pollution control; public participation and environmental rights; compliance and enforcement; judicial review of environmental decision-making (eg standard of review, public interest standing); economic policy instruments (eg carbon taxes); federal toxics regulation; environmental/impact assessment; endangered species protection; and parks and protected areas (eg IPCAs). Throughout the course, we use cross-cutting issues like the climate crisis and environmental racism to understand complex legal and policy problems, and we explore the emerging debates around “rights of nature”.
The course is evaluated by a mid-term assignment, class participation, and final exam. For the mid-term assignment, students work in groups to do an in-class moot court, present an in-class client briefing, or submit a public comment to a government agency on a real-life proposed environmental act, policy, or regulation that is posted for comment on the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights registry or the federal environmental registry.
The course is integrated with the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change graduate course ENVS 6164 and typically includes students from the MES program, whose presence greatly enriches the learning experience.