Law and Politics

• Picogram


  More of a warning than law
• Sources of law


  • Constitution and Unwritten Constitution
  • Statutes
  • Common Law
• Traffic ticket wasn't in English and French
• Originally ruled in favour of appellant

  Then reversed by upper courts
• Appended to Order of 1870 - Did this have constitutional status, most of SCC said no
• Section 265 (3c)


  Used to convict Hutchinson for fraud
• Section 273


  Used to convict Kirkpatrick for aggravated sexual assault
• Hutchinson applies in cases of deception and sabotage only, Kirkpatrick applies everywhere else
• Parliament enacted the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act ("GGPPA")
• The GGPPA is constitutional. It sets minimum national standards of GHG price stringency to reduce GHG emissions. Parliament has jurisdiction to enact this law as a matter of national concern under the peace, order, and good government ("POGG") clause of s. 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867.
• V


  Lived in Canada, thought he was Canadian, and held a Canadian passport. Born in Canada, spends 17 years of life in Canada
• In 2010, V's parents were arrested for being Russian spies (V had no idea!)
• In 2013 V issued a certificate of Canadian citizenship, but cancelled by the Registrar in 2014
• The Registrar's decision to cancel V's certificate of citizenship was unreasonable, and the Court of Appeal's decision to quash it should be upheld. It was not reasonable for the Registrar to interpret s. 3(2)(a) of the Citizenship Act as applying to children of individuals who have not been granted diplomatic privileges and immunities at the time of the children's birth.
• Newfoundland and Labrador made a lousy deal and they have to live with it.
• Judgments on the Churchill Falls case

  • 3 different judgments
  • Total of 21 Justices
  • Only 1 sided with Newfoundland and Labrador
• Possible outcomes for the Mustapha v. Culligan Water case


  • Contract law - Refund the water (Return to the state they would have been in if this didn't happen)
  • Tort law - Injury must be "reasonably foreseeable"
• Trial Judge says: 37% - Rankin's Garage, 23% - C, 30% - C's Mother, 10% - J
• Rankins Garage appeals as they feel like they aren't most liable
• Precedents on duty of care and reasonable foreseeability

  • Provo - Left truck running 40 mins
  • Calo - Left car running while closing bar
  • Karen's - 6 cars keys stolen by high schoolers, one killed a pedestrian, garage found liable
• Groia wasn't reported, Law Society just heard about it, and investigated themselves
• Initial LSUC penalty - 2 month suspension, $247,000. Appeals Committee - 1 month suspension, $200,000.
• SCC overturns Groia's penalty. LSCU must be held to "reasonableness standard" and that Groia's penalty was "unreasonable"
• SCC says this is not a tea party, formalities should not get in the way of the advocacy of clients, lawyers shouldn't be afraid to advocate
• Baker V. Canada stands for requirement of administrative actors to give reasons when circumstances are important enough to do so (eg. deportation)
• Christie V. York - Private Law case, Liberty of Contract - you can choose who you contract with and don't. But this changed to commercial establishment open to public, using this to discriminate is not allowed.
• Legal positivism


  The law is merely a reflection of those who are in power, so law is inherently political
• Four elements of law in positivism

  • Body of rules
  • Enacted and applied by public officials
  • Formulated by legitimate means
  • Backed by state force
• Legal realism


  A softer stance on legal positivism that recognizes the interconnected nature of law with politics, class, and other societal constructs
• Natural law


  Opposite of legal positivism, proponents believe that law should reflect what society considers moral and just
• Marxist perspective


  The law is merely a tool used by the upper class to suppress the lower class
• Law fails when it is secret; at the most basic level law must be available for citizens to read and understand
• Law can be assessed as a tool for world-making if it is coherent, credible, and useful
• Grewal v. Litt: family left massive amount of money for sons, but barely anything for daughters even though the daughters did more – led to a challenge – can our public legal system invalidate a private law will?
• Legal fictions


  Entities that do not have physical existences, but exist in a legal sense and have a very real impact on the world around them (ex. corporations, universities, etc.)
• Hierarchy of authority


  • Constitution
  • Statutes
  • Common law judgements
• Constitution


  No actual document (mostly in convention) – "based on rule of law and the supremacy of God"
• Key sections of the Constitution

  • S. 52 (supremacy clause)
  • S. 91 (federal powers)
  • S. 92 (provincial powers)
  • S. 1 (limits clause - Oakes test)
  • S. 33 (notwithstanding clause)
  • S. 2 (fundamental freedoms)
  • S. 7 (due process rights)
  • S. 8-14 (legal rights)
  • S. 15 (equality)
• 1. 50 rule


  To amend the constitution, must have at least 7 provinces representing minimum 50% of the Canadian population
• Matters relating to the queen, SCC, Parliament, and Official languages must have approval from every province and territory