It is no longer tenable to separate the study and practice of law from issues of mental health and wellness. Drawing from scholarship, clinical insight, and reflective experience, this course is premised on the conviction that mental wellness, professional fulfillment, and academic insight can align, with productive and even transformative effects. The skills and capacities essential to thrive in law school and the legal profession—including personal reflection, healthy relationships, values clarification, and boundary setting—are the very capacities that are strengthened by focusing on emotional and personal wellness. Using a model that marries the study of psychotherapeutic theory with experiential learning, the course equips students with skills and tools for life in the legal profession while cultivating critical and personal insight to help students understand, navigate, and even constructively intervene to disrupt the mental health challenges endemic in legal education and the legal profession.
Combining practical skills-development and psychoeducation, the course will help students conceptualize their mental wellness from differing theoretical perspectives while deepening their awareness of self and others and fostering healthy relationships. The course will introduce students to topics such as: theories of psychological change; fostering awareness of self; the mind-body connection and the importance of good nutrition, physical exercise, and sleep; deepening relationships to self, others, and at work; values clarification; effective communication of needs; coping mechanisms for stress & burnout; anxiety management skills; treatment options for depressive symptoms; resilience and meaning-making through adversity and trauma. With the support of assigned readings and other forms of class preparation, lectures, experiential exercises/practice, and small group discussions, the course will aim to create an environment of trust and curiosity, and to foster a willingness amongst the students to bring their ideas, experiences, and emotions to the exploration of these issues, of the study and practice of law, and of themselves.
What role do society’s laws play in the development of our psyches (and our symptoms)? How does the legal system’s practice of punishment relate to our own wish to punish ourselves? How do the insights of psychoanalysis trouble the idea of the rational actor so precious to the state legal system? Through the study of these and other questions, this seminar examines what the study of the dynamic workings of the unconscious mind might reveal — both conceptually and practically — about the nature of law and legal systems, and about the contributions of law to the structure, development, and functioning of the human psyche. After gaining a basic understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice through exposure to the writing of key thinkers in the tradition (from Freud, Lacan, Klein, and Bion to contemporary relational theorists) students will consider various concepts of common importance to legal and psychoanalytic thought. The seminar will raise material on topics such as guilt, conscience, judgment, agency, punishment, selfhood/subjectivity, relationality, trauma, and free speech (free expression/free association). Legal areas engaged will include criminal law, family law, children and the law, and various principles and doctrines in public and private law. Students will also reflect on what psychoanalytic ideas might offer in understanding legal education and the practice of law.
In the post‑pandemic period, occupational health and safety (OHS) has re‑emerged as a central concern across Canadian workplaces. As organizations reopened and employees returned to on‑site work, longstanding questions about employer responsibilities, worker protections, and the adequacy of safety planning came sharply into focus. Many workers particularly those in frontline, low‑wage, and public‑facing roles reported that return‑to‑work conditions exposed gaps in hazard assessment, communication, and risk mitigation. These challenges effectively placed Canada’s OHS systems under a stress test, revealing both areas of resilience and significant weaknesses that require renewed attention.
The post‑pandemic landscape also underscored how gender and race shape workers’ exposure to risk. Women and racialized workers are disproportionately represented in sectors such as health care, retail, food services, and caregiving areas where workplace hazards, emotional labour, and public interaction are common. Their experiences highlight how OHS protections must account for structural inequities, job segregation, and the different ways workers encounter and navigate risk.
At the same time, the return‑to‑work period has drawn attention to the experiences of young workers, many of whom enter the labour market in sectors with higher injury rates, limited training, and precarious employment conditions. Understanding how youth especially racialized and newcomer youth experience workplace hazards, power imbalances, and employer expectations is essential for strengthening OHS protections and ensuring that early work experiences do not compromise long‑term health and well‑being.
Of course, concern with OHS is not new and extends far beyond pandemic‑related issues. In 2019 the last year for which national statistics are available Canadian workers’ compensation boards accepted approximately 270,000 lost‑time injuries and illnesses and 925 work‑related fatalities. For reasons we will examine, these numbers significantly under‑represent the true impact of work on health and safety. At the same time, it is also likely that work is less hazardous today than in previous decades, reflecting the cumulative effects of regulation, enforcement, training, and evolving safety standards.
In this seminar we will explore how occupational health and safety regulation has contributed to improvements, where they have been made, but also the ways in which regulation still fails to all protect workers. We focus on legal and policy dimensions of regulating hazardous working conditions. The nature of the subject matter lends itself to a multidisciplinary approach, including economic, scientific and sociological perspectives, which are considered, as appropriate, throughout the course.
Topics to be examined may include: (1) the human cost of work-related disability; (2) theoretical perspectives on occupational health and safety regulation; (3) historical development of OHS regulation in Canada; (4) current dimensions of work-related injury, disease and fatality, and problems with existing statistics; (5) overview of the internal responsibility system mandated by statute, including worker rights to know, to be consulted and to refuse unsafe work; (6) the role of external enforcement including the powers of inspectors; (7)prosecuting and defending regulatory offences under the OHS Act; (8) the role of criminal sanctions; (9) comparative perspectives; (10) current law reform initiatives. Of course, we will also consider the special circumstances of OHS regulation in the context of the revolving definitions of ‘work’ and ‘workplace’.
All seminars will be held in person unless due to circumstances Zoom if in person is not avialble due to unforseen circumstances.
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, capacity and substitute decision-making; mental health law; professional regulation and governance; medical malpractice; 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); the civil commitment system; reproductive health and surrogacy; and governance of health care and corporate health issues.
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, and to explore and analyze an issue in health law through a major research 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.
“In every society there are those who commit criminal acts because of mental illness. The criminal law must find a way to deal with these people fairly, while protecting the public against further harms. The task is not an easy one.” Winko v. British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625 at para. 1
For the student wishing to practice criminal law, it is inevitable that they will encounter individuals with mental health issues. This course will examine the various legal issues that arise when an accused person living with mental illness comes into contact with the criminal justice system. Students will become familiar with Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code (Mental Disorder) and related sections and will include fitness issues, Not Criminally Responsible verdicts, expert evidence, principles of sentencing and the Ontario Review Board. The seminar will also afford students an opportunity to reflect critically on the various social, legal and ethical issues that arise as an individual with mental health issues goes through the criminal justice system, including the use of measures to divert persons away from or out of the criminal justice system.
The class will include lectures, guest speakers and class discussion. Students will also see how these statutory provisions arise in practice through a field trip (conditions permitting) to a specialized Mental Health Court or the Ontario Review Board.
This course surveys constitutional, statutory, and common law frameworks governing health care delivery in Canada. Topics covered will include: the nature of health law as a distinctive field of study and practice; social determinants of health and special concerns faced by marginalized populations; provincial and federal jurisdiction over health; the Canadian medicare system; constitutional rights to health; Indigenous health; regulation of health professions; medical negligence law; informed consent; capacity for healthcare decision-making; mental health law; human reproduction; and medical assistance in dying. Lectures and evaluations will emphasize the development of students’ independent critical thinking skills as applied to problems raised in health law, bioethics, and the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence in health care delivery.
This course will focus on injuries to relational interests, including negligent and/or intentional interference with family relationships, economic relationships, and community relationships. Topics covered will include the torts of intimidation, conspiracy, inducing breach of contract, defamation, and invasion of privacy, and liability for economic loss from negligence. Each area of tort law doctrine will be considered in context. This will involve a substantial historical component and also exploration of various jurisprudential perspectives on tort law including law and economics, critical legal studies, feminist legal theory, and critical race theory.
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 course’s end, students would have a solid understanding of Canadian patent law as well as how international developments shape and influence Canadian patent law.
This course is an introduction to Canadian environmental law. Major issues in environmental law are brought to life via guest lectures, videos, and exercises drawn from real-world environmental controversies. Course topics will include legislative jurisdiction and federalism; economic instruments of regulation; pollution regulation and regulatory instrument choice; toxic substances; environmental compliance and enforcement; public participation and environmental rights; judicial review of administrative action; common law environmental actions; endangered species law; and environmental/impact assessment and Indigenous engagement.
Additional principles and experiences will be gleaned from inherently related matters including Indigenous issues, environmental sciences, natural resources and waste management, land use planning and brownfield development, and environmental case law.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
• understand the jurisdictional framework and core principles of environmental law in
Canada;
• understand the sources of federal, provincial and local environmental law in Canada, including key legislation, regulatory instruments, and court decisions and assess the effectiveness of the environmental legal regimes
• understand the structure and operation of the main agencies and institutions that
play roles in the development and implementation of environmental law in Canada;
• understand and anticipate the Canadian regulatory response to various environmental phenomena, including advancements in technology and science, project development, or discharges/spills into the natural environment;
• advance or respond to environmental civil litigation, including understanding primary causes of action and the nature of environmental harms and damages; and
• examine selected case studies of environmental law in Canada in order
to understand the political/economical/societal dimensions of environmental regulation.
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 persons with disabilities. Throughout the course we will examine statutory provisions and jurisprudence in different areas including: human rights, the family, reproduction and procreation, death and dying, mental health, care and caregiving, social assistance, economic supports and the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to understand how disability is defined and regulated by law. We will also have a session with visitors from ARCH Disability Law Center about representing clients with disabilities. A key aim of this course is to analyze and evaluate how law can best achieve the goals of social justice, inclusion and equality for persons 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 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.