Browse "Types of Law"

Section 98 was an offence in the CRIMINAL CODE of Canada from 1919 to 1936. The section was drafted in 1919 in response to the general labour unrest in the country, which culminated in the WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE.

Abduction, literally leading away, historically meant the seizure of a wife from her husband, or a female infant or heiress from her parent or lawful guardian, for marriage, concubinage or prostitution.

Sexual abuse of children has been defined in Ontario as abuse that includes "any sexual intercourse, sexual molestation, exhibitionism or sexual exploitation involving a child that could be a violation of the Criminal Code or render the child in need of protection under the Child Welfare Act.

In 1987 the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to win Québec's consent to the revised Canadian Constitution — following the Québec government's rejection of it in 1981.

On a Sunday evening, June 3, 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the ten provincial premiers marked the third anniversary of the Meech Lake Accord at a dinner in the architectural splendour of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.

Administrative law is one of three basic areas of public law dealing with the relationship between government and its citizens, the other two being constitutional law and criminal law. Administrative law ensures that government actions are authorized by Parliament or by provincial legislatures, and that laws are implemented and administered in a fair and reasonable manner. Administrative law is based on the principle that government actions must (strictly speaking) be legal, and that citizens who are affected by unlawful government acts must have effective remedies. A strong administrative law system helps maintain public confidence in government authority.

An advance directive (sometimes referred to as a "living will") is a legal mechanism which enables individuals to plan for their own incapacity, and specifically for the situation where decisions have to be taken with respect to their health care after they are no longer mentally capable of making (or communicating) these decisions personally.

Air law and space law are separate and distinct branches of law, although they are occasionally treated as one ("Aerospace Law"). Air law, the older of the 2, is the body of public and private law, both national and international, that regulates aeronautical activities and other uses of airspace.

Landlord and tenant law, governed by provincial statutes and judge-made law, varies considerably from province to province. Essentially, a landlord and tenant relationship is contractual (see CONTRACT LAW).

Traditional Christian concepts of marriage dominated Canadian society since the founding of the country. Since the end of the Second World War, however, these customs and norms have changed considerably.

The media are the means by which we receive information we want and need. Over time, town criers and clay tablets have given way to printed text. Now, a wide variety of aural and visual information is conveyed to us in bits and bytes through a number of intermediaries.

See HOMICIDE.

“Peace, order and good government” are the words used in section 91 of the British North America Act of 1867 (now Constitution Act, 1867) to define the Canadian Parliament’s lawmaking authority in relation to provincial authority. The phrase’s vague and broad definition of Parliament’s authority over provincial matters has caused tensions between federal and provincial governments over the scope of powers since Confederation. It has come to be considered the Canadian counterpart to the United States’ “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Citizen's arrest originated in Medieval England when there was no police force and it was everyone's duty to assist in chasing criminals. These powers are now set out in the Criminal Code.

Until it was amended in 1982 the Criminal Code contained the offence of rape. The offence required proof that a man had sexual intercourse with a woman other than his wife without the woman's consent. It was punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Communauté des biens (community of property), term used in the legal codes of NEW FRANCE and Québec to describe the pooled assets of husband and wife. It began as part of the Coutume de Paris, introduced about 1640 and the sole legal code of the colony after 1664.

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

Defamation law protects an individual's reputation and good name. It also restricts freedom of speech. Therefore, courts must carefully balance these two important values in deciding defamation actions.

​The regulation of motor vehicle traffic is one of the greatest legal challenges of the 21st century. Governments make traffic laws and statutes, but common law rules still play an important role.