Showing All of 486 results for "Law"

James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement

The James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement of 1975 was the first major agreement between the Crown and the Indigenous people in Canada since the numbered treaties of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Manitoba Act

The Manitoba Act of 1870 provided for the admission of Manitoba as Canada's fifth province. It marked the legal resolution of the struggle for self-determination between people of the Red River Colony and the federal government, that began with the purchase of Rupert’s Land by Canada. The Act contained protections for the region’s Métis. However, these protections were not fully realized, resulting in many Métis leaving the province for the North-West Territories.

Marijuana Legalization in Canada

Marijuana has been prohibited in Canada for nearly a century, but the federal government has introduced legislation to make it legal by 2018 – a change supported by a majority of Canadians, despite concerns about the drug's addictiveness, especially among young people. Legalizing marijuana requires changes to international treaties, Canadian laws, and social practices.

Immigration Detention in Canada

Immigration detention falls under the framework of administrative law — the person being detained has not committed a crime under Canada's Criminal Code, but is being detained for immigration reasons.

Children, Education and the Law

In Canada, political and law-making power is shared by the provincial and federal levels of government, as set out in the constitution. Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the provincial governments the exclusive jurisdiction to make laws governing education.

Wartime Elections Act

The Wartime Elections Act of 1917 gave the vote to female relatives of Canadian soldiers serving overseas in the First World War.

Contract Law in Canada

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more persons for a particular purpose.

Bill 101 (Charte de la langue française)

Introduced by Camille Laurin, Bill 101, Charte de la langue française (1977), made French the official language of government and of the courts in the province of Québec, as well as making it the normal and habitual language of the workplace, of instruction, of communications, of commerce and of business.

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Famous Five

Alberta's "Famous Five" were petitioners in the groundbreaking Persons Case. Led by judge Emily Murphy, the group included Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney and Irene Parlby.

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Mike Duffy Case

Senator ​Mike Duffy was charged with crimes following a public scandal over his expense claims. In April 2016, after a high profile trial, he was cleared of all charges.

Omar Khadr Case

Omar Khadr is a Toronto-born Canadian, captured by American soldiers after a firefight in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15 years old. The only minor since the Second World War to be convicted of purported war crimes, Khadr was imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay and Canada for almost 13 years in total. In 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Khadr’s detainment violated “the principles of fundamental justice” and “the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of youth suspects.” Despite repeated attempts by the Canadian government to keep him in prison, Khadr was released on bail in May 2015. In July 2017, he received $10.5 million in compensation from the government for Canada’s role in violating his constitutional rights.

Chloe Cooley and the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada

Although little is known about Chloe Cooley, an enslaved woman in Upper Canada, her struggles against her “owner,” Sergeant Adam Vrooman, precipitated the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, 1793 — the first legislation in the British colonies to restrict the slave trade.

Steven Truscott Case

At the age of 14, ​Steven Truscott was wrongly convicted of killing his 12-year-old schoolmate Lynne Harper. Five decades later he was exonerated.

Romeo Phillion Case

Romeo Phillion was the longest-serving prisoner in Canadian history to have a murder conviction overturned.

Guy Paul Morin Case

The Guy Paul Morin case was the second major wrongful conviction case to occur in the modern era of the Canadian criminal justice system.

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the court of last resort for all legal issues in Canada, including those of federal and provincial jurisdiction. From humble beginnings as an opaque body subject to being overruled by the British Privy Council, the court now has the final judicial say on a broad range of contentious legal and social issues, ranging from the availability of abortion to the constitutionality of capital punishment and assisted suicide.

Constitution of Canada

The Constitution of Canada is the country’s governing legal framework. It defines the powers of the executive branches of government and the legislatures at both the national and provincial levels. Canada’s Constitution is not one legal document but is composed of several statutes and orders, as well as generally accepted practices known as constitutional conventions.

War Measures Act

The War Measures Act was a federal statute adopted by Parliament in 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War. It gave broad powers to the Canadian government to maintain security and order during war or insurrection.

Military Service Act

​The Military Service Act of 1917 was a controversial law allowing the conscription of Canadian men for service in the final years of the First World War.

Resource Rights

Natural-resource development has played a major role in Canada's economy and continues to be a focus of national concerns.

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Women and the Law

Women have looked to the law as a tool to change their circumstances, while at the same time the law is one of the instruments which confirms their dependent status as citizens (see Status of Women). The first phase of the Women's Movement, in proclaiming that women were capable of reason as well as reproduction and nurturing, claimed a place for women in the public sphere, while also relying upon the concept of "separate spheres" to delineate their areas of strength and competence.

Drybones Case

In R v. Drybones (1970), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a provision of the Indian Act was “inoperative” — meaning no longer valid or in effect — because it violated section 1(b) of the Canadian Bill of Rights, which guarantees equality before the law.

Administrative Tribunals in Canada

Administrative tribunals in Canada make decisions on behalf of federal and provincial governments when it is impractical or inappropriate for the government to do so itself. Tribunals are set up by federal or provincial legislation, known as “empowering legislation.” Tribunals are commonly known as commissions or boards, and make decisions about a wide variety of issues, including disputes between people or between people and the government. Tribunals may also perform regulatory or licensing functions. Tribunal decisions may be reviewed by the courts. Because they engage in fact-finding and have the power to impact personal rights, tribunals are often seen as “quasi-judicial.”
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In 1946 John Humphrey became director of the United Nations Division on Human Rights, and Eleanor Roosevelt was named the United States representative to the UN's Commission on Human Rights.

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The Clarity Act (Bill C-20)

Bill C-20, the bill known as the Clarity Act gives effect to the requirement for clarity set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Québec Secession Reference.