Course Description

Even the mention of "The Constitution" is enough to get most Canadians screaming and running for the hills.  The problems of repeated, unsuccessful attempts at constitutional change, and the on-going threat of Quebec separation have left most of us feeling something worse than an abscessed tooth!  And yet...  As important as national unity and constitutional amendment are, there is so very much more to Canada's constitution. 

This course will explore a wide variety of issues relating to the Canadian constitution. Much of our constitution is determined by informal rules flesh out the bare bones of the law. The nature of these constitutional conventions will be analyzed, as well as specific matters regulated by them. 

A review of the main components and principles of the formal Constitution can provide a crucial insight into the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments. With a grasp of the original provisions in the 1867 Constitution Act, we can develop a much better appreciate of the many forces at work which propel constitutional evolution in Canada. 

Part of the course will be devoted to judicial interpretation of the Constitution, in order to see just what changes judges have made to the constitution as well as how they reached these decisions. In this light it is essential to study the principles which judges have developed to guide analyses of where the powers of one level of government end and those of the other begin - or overlap! With this foundation, the class can then discuss specific topics in the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments, the creation of new aboriginal governments, constitutional  amendment, judicial power, and the Charter of Rights. 

Course Organization:

There will be a four-hour lecture per week for the first half of term. Beginning Mar 3, there will be a two-hour lecture to start and a two-hour tutorial based on student presentations in the second half.

Required Text:

Patrick J. Monahan, Constitutional Law (Third Edition)

Books on Reserve:

A. Heard, Canadian Constitutional Conventions ......... JL 65 1991 H4 

P.W. Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada .................. JL 183 H62 2007 

Assignments:

• Term Paper .............40 % 
• Mid-term Test ........ 10
• Final Exam ............. 35
• Presentation.............10 
• Participation............. 5 

 

Essay topics:

The range of topics that may be covered in this class, and from which students may choose to do their papers and presentations, include: 

1) Prerogative Powers of the Governors
2) Reservation and Disallowance of Provincial Legislation
3) Peace, Order, and Good Government
4) The Federal Spending Power
5) Provincial Competence in International Relations
6) International Trade (NAFTA, GATT, MAI etc.) and the Provinces
7) Provincial Criminal Competence
8) Border Collection of Provincial Sales Taxes
9) Jurisdiction Over Natural Resources
10) Jurisdiction over gambling
11) Parliamentary Privileges
12) The Prorogation and/or Dissolution of Parliament
13) Fixed Election Date Legislation
14) Problems with Implementing Senate Elections
15) The Constitutional Amendment Process
16) Appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada
17) Judicial Independence
18) The Removal of Judges - on what grounds and by whom?
19) Constitutional issues in the Anti-terrorism Act
20) Aboriginal Self-Government
21) Quebec Separation
22) Arctic Sovereignty
23) The Settlement of Boundaries Issues - St Pierre et Miquelon, Nfld & Nova Scotia, the waters between Canada and Greenland, the status of the Northwest Passage, etc
24) The Future of the Monarchy
25) Emergency Measures and the Constitution
26) Constitutional Issues with Inter-Provincial Agreements
27) Issues in Canadian Sovereignty (foreign laws applying to companies doing business in Canada, or foreign laws applying to Canadian businesses)
28) Extra-Territorial Reach of Provincial Legislation
29) The Power of Expropriation
30) The Rule of Law
31) National Securities Regulator to Govern Stocks etc
32) Problems with the constitutional division of responsibilities over: environment, transportation, health care
32) Citizenship – Is Dual Citizenship an Oxymoron?
34) Limits of the Charter's Application to Courts and Legislatures
35) The Debate Over the Charter's Application to Private Disputes
36) Examine a Specific Right in the Charter of Rights: freedom of expression, equality, etc
37) Section One Limitations to Charter Rights
38) Section 33 - The Notwithstanding Clause
39) Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint
40) Constitutionality of the Current Electoral System
41) Choose a case before the Supreme Court of Canada or a provincial Court of Appeal and give your ‘judgement’.

 

Essays should be about 4, 500 words (roughly 15 double-spaced pages of text) and is due in class on April 7.   LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

A significant range of sources (10 minimum) should be used as the research basis for the essay.  A paper that does not refer to the minimum number of sources in the body of the essay will FAIL. 

In order to receive credit for the assignment, all students must submit both a paper version of the essay to the instructor as well as an electronic version to Turnitin.com.  Sign up for Turnitin, if you haven't already done so. The register for the course:  Class ID: 3727355 and the Password is the classroom number WMC3250 (use capital letters). The electronic version is due on the same day as the paper version and must match the paper version.

Click here to visit Turnitin.com
 

Students are reminded that proper credit must be given to other authors' work. When another author's words are used they must be identified as quotations, by using quotation marks or indented quotations. The use of another author's particular ideas must also be credited in a note. All work submitted for this class must be the student's original work done for this class. 

Students are bound by the University's Code of Academic Honesty  and the Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Procedures. 
 
 

For information and tips on essay writing, consult the Department's Essay Guide. For guidelines on citing references from the Internet, read the Electronic Sources Citation Guide. 
 

GUIDELINES FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS

The presentation is an opportunity to develop public-speaking skills. Strive for is a 10 minute talk that is delivered mainly in an ad-libbed conversational manner, using notes to organize and guide your talk. Presentations should NOT simply be read straight from a text. The presentation provides a chance to summarize briefly the main points of the topic, while adding further detail and broader context. The presentation is intended as a brief discussion of your paper's issues that will set up a brief class discussion in the period that follows. Presenters are strongly encouraged to use PowerPoint, web pages, overheads, handouts, or the blackboard to enliven their presentations.

Preparing for the presentation is meant to help you organize your thoughts for the research paper you will submit at the end of term. Use this opportunity as a trial run of issues to be dealt with in your topic.

If you feel nervous about giving presentions in front of a class, this artcle from the Globe & Mail may help.
 
 
 

Thursday Apr 14:   FINAL EXAM -- 12:00 to 14:00  (2 hours)  RCB 8100