EXPERIENTIAL TOOL
Law
Personal Orientation Project
(POP)
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Activity Guide
This tool kit is intended solely as a guide; the information found herein is not meant to be exhaustive. The websites mentioned in this tool kit may no longer be active or may direct you to sites containing information you may find inappropriate. Please check these links before using them with students, as we cannot guarantee they will work. Moreover, the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin cannot be held responsible for the contents of these sites, nor for any omissions, errors or inaccuracies found in this tool kit or for any consequences arising from such omissions, errors or inaccuracies. Stein Monast, www.steinmonast.ca and the Stein Monast logo are trademarks owned by Stein Monast L.L.P. ATTORNEYS.
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Document number: 1
Document version: 2.0
Property of the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin, © 2007
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Table of Contents
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General Information 1
Credits 2
ACTIVITY 1
Labour law 3
ACTIVITY 2
Criminal law 6
ACTIVITY 3
Law of persons 10
ACTIVITY 4
Commercial law 14
ACTIVITY 5
Civil procedure 17
ANSWER KEY
Activity 1 19
Activity 2 20
Activity 3 21
Activity 4 22
Activity 5 23
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General information
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List of materials:
The following list itemizes all the materials and resources required to complete this tool kit on law.
· Law Activity Guide
· Multimedia computer
Websites:
Canadian Legal Information Institute:
www.canlii.org
Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada:
http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca
Publications du Québec:
www.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca
Credits
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Conception:
Luc Rancourt, LL.L. Attorney at Stein Monast L.L.P. ATTORNEYS
English translation:
Paul Don, Interface Communications Translation
Avis Anderson Revision, adaptation, additional research
Special thanks to Me Luc Rancourt, for his expertise on the final revision of the English version, and to Cristina Cusano, from Juris Translations, for her legal translation expertise.
The activities found in this tool kit are not intended to be,
nor should they be, considered legal advice.
All names and facts contained in the activities are fictitious.
These activities were developed using legislation in force on February 5, 2007.
www.steinmonast.ca
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Activity
1
Labour law
Labour law deals with work conditions and the relationships between employers and employees. Individual and collective work relationships are governed by numerous federal and provincial laws.
In Québec, many laws govern labour law, including the Labour Code, the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety and the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases. Lawyers practising labour law must therefore be familiar with these laws and their application.
Activity 1 will give you the opportunity to study and analyze the Act Respecting Labour Standards, R.S.Q., chapter N-1.1 (hereinafter “the ARLS”). The ARLS is the most important piece of normative labour legislation both because of its broad scope of application and because of the number of people who are subject to it.
You can consult this law on the Publications du Québec website at:
www.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/accueil.en.html
To locate the ARLS on this website, first click on “Laws and Regulations,” then select “Revised Statutes and Regulations” from the drop-down menu and finally “List of laws.” Click on the letter “N” and scroll down to “N-1.1A.” (The list of laws is alphabetical in French, but not in English.)
Please read section 1 of the ARLS, in order to become familiar with the definitions found therein, specifically those of “employer” and “employee.”
Once you have read this section, read the activity on the following page, which will allow you to apply the provisions of the ARLS to a real-life situation.
Please support your answers by providing the specific relevant provisions found in Chapter IV of the ARLS.
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Context1) When her grandmother died of a heart attack, Linda immediately informed her employer and said she would be absent from work to go to the funeral. Now she wants to know whether she will be paid for the day she was absent from work.
2) As computer-generated imagery is evolving at a furious rate in the film world, Linda’s employer told her about a training course coming up in Toronto, emphasizing that this training would significantly benefit her work. Although her employer did not require her to attend the course, Linda has decided to go and plans to ask her employer to cover her transportation, hotel and meal costs. Does her employer have to reimburse her for these expenses?
3) Linda works from Monday to Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. However, last Friday, the company she works for was awarded an animation contract in the morning, and her employer called her at home to ask her to come in and solve some problems they were having with the animation. She went to work and solved the problems within one (1) hour. Her boss thanked her and told her she would be paid for the hour of work. Is Linda entitled to more than that?
4) Linda takes a 30-minute lunch break. Her employer requires her to stay at her work station throughout her lunch break to answer calls, because the receptionist goes home for lunch. Linda is not paid for her lunch period. Is she entitled to be paid for it?
5) Because the company is getting fewer contracts and the economic situation is requiring it to restructure its operations, Linda’s employer must lay off several employees, including Linda. Linda’s employer foresees that she will be laid off for eight (8) months. How much advance written notice must her employer give her to this effect, considering the number of years Linda has been working for this company?
Activity
2
Criminal law
Criminal law is the law that defines which human behaviour and acts undermine the fundamental values of our society and that establishes the sentences for persons who violate these values.
Criminal law comprises various concepts, some of which are intimately linked to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (hereinafter “the Charter”). One of the most important concepts is the presumption of innocence, which is provided for in section 11d) of the Charter:
“Any person charged with an offence has the right: […] to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.”
The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle in Canadian criminal law, which is why it is constitutionally protected by the Charter. The person being prosecuted is therefore presumed innocent as long as his or her guilt has not been established beyond a reasonable doubt by an irrevocable decision.
Criminal law consists of various laws; its main legislative source is the Criminal Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46). Substantive criminal law is under federal jurisdiction, so only the Parliament of Canada can legislate this matter.
Activity 2 will give you the opportunity to become familiar with the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal law. It is up to the Crown attorney to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the criminal offence in question. Thus, neither the judge nor the jury members may declare the person guilty if there is a reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused.
You will also be asked a few questions concerning certain offences under the Criminal Code.
Context 1Once you have read the judgment, please answer the following questions:
True or false?
1) Reasonable doubt means nothing more than what these words mean in their “ordinary, natural every day sense.”
______
2) A reasonable doubt cannot be based upon sympathy.
______
3) A reasonable doubt can be based upon prejudice.
______
4) A reasonable doubt corresponds to an absolute certainty.
______
5) The burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime rests with the prosecution (Crown) throughout the trial.
______
Context 21) Is the sentence given to someone found guilty of first degree murder the same as one given to someone found guilty of second degree murder?
2) Hugh Lightfoot was indicted and found guilty of theft. A few months earlier, while visiting Gold Plus jewellers, Hugh stole a diamond-studded watch worth $2000. The trial judge gave him a prison sentence of 2½ years. Is this possible?
3) During a hockey match that Tania Quintal was attending, Mike Roberts became frustrated by the referee’s decision to call a penalty on his favourite team. As he was lifting his arm in protest, he accidentally hit Tania in the face. In anger, Tania insulted him and said she was going to file a complaint for assault. Can Mike’s gesture be considered assault?
4) Joanne Smith is a lawyer who is meeting her client, Ben Goodwill, this morning. She has reviewed the information laid by a Sûreté du Québec liaison officer, who declared having reasons to believe that Ben Goodwill committed a breaking and entering offence in a Montréal home.
Ben explains to Ms. Smith that the previous week he had used a pole in an attempt to steal an MP3 player he had seen on his neighbour’s night table. As he was poking the pole through the window, patrolling neighbourhood police officers saw him and arrested him on the premises.
Ben claims that he was not breaking and entering, as he never entered the house. Is Ben’s argument valid?
5) Can a child under 12 years of age be convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code?
Activity
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Law of persons
Book One of the Civil Code of Québec is concerned with the law of persons. Its first article provides:
“Every human being possesses juridical personality and has the full enjoyment of civil rights.”
Thus, all individuals are persons in the eyes of the law; they have a “juridical personality,” which means they have the capacity to be subject to rights and obligations.
Activity 3 addresses the area of individual rights, specifically rules regarding a change of name, the capacity of persons, consent to care, confinement in an institution and the alienation of a body part.
The Civil Code of Québec, S.Q., 1991, c.64. (hereinafter “the CCQ”), can be found on the Publications du Québecwebsite at:
www.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/accueil.en.html
To locate the CCQ on this website, first click on “Laws and Regulations,” then select “Revised Statutes and Regulations” from the drop-down menu and finally “List of laws.” Click on the letter “C” and scroll down to “CCQA” (between “C-23A” and “C-24A”). (The list of laws is alphabetical in French, but not in English.)
Please support your answers by providing the specific relevant articles found in Book One of the CCQ (Title II, chapter I; Title III, chapter I; and Title IV, chapter I only).
Context1) When Penelope Keleher was born, her parents, Felicity Keleher and Gary Reiner, decided she would use her mother’s last name; this is therefore the name that appears on Penelope’s birth certificate. Now, however, Gary wants his daughter, who is 15years old, to add his last name to her surname and presents an application to that effect, even though Felicity is against the change of name.
Does Felicity Keleher have the right to object to the application presented by her husband, Gary Reiner?
2) Alessandro Perez is a 15-year-old radio enthusiast who hosts a weekly radio program in his secondary school, playing a countdown of his school’s five most popular songs.
Kerry Randall, who owns the local radio station, is visiting a friend of hers who is a teacher at Alessandro’s secondary school when she hears the teen’s show and decides to offer Alessandro a job hosting a new weekend show on her radio station.
Can a contract to that effect be signed by Alessandro alone, or must it also be signed by his parents?
3) Sylvia Mohan is a 16-year-old who loves basketball and plays in the interscholastic league. Sylvia is short-sighted (myopia); she does not like the way she looks with glasses and finds they get in her way when she is playing basketball. She therefore decides to use some of her personal savings for corrective laser surgery, after which she would no longer need to wear glasses. She makes an appointment at the local eye clinic, where the ophthalmologist explains that the operation is not complicated, but may entail risks for her health and cause grave and permanent effects.
Can Sylvia consent to this type of care on her own or is her parents’ consent required? What formalities must she respect?
4) Note: Anyone can apply to the court to request that another person be confined temporarily in a health or social services institution. When the court has serious reasons to believe the person in question is a danger to him- or herself or to others owing to his or her mental state, it may order that such a person be confined for a psychiatric assessment.
Judith Bourget, aged 29, was admitted to the Douglas Hospital on June 4, at 6:00p.m., following the issuance of an order of confinement for a psychiatric assessment.
On June 5, at 8:00 a.m., Dr. Susan Hirschman completed her first psychiatric assessment. She concluded that Judith suffers from severe hallucinatory episodes that are likely to cause serious bodily harm to another person. Dr. Hirschman therefore recommended that Judith be kept in the hospital. On June 8, at 8:30 p.m., Dr. John Liu examined the patient and confirmed Dr. Hirschman’s diagnosis and recommendation.
What legal technicality concerning the order of confinement for psychiatric assessment was not respected?
5) Simon Williams is looking through the local newspaper to find a job. He has been unemployed for nearly three (3) months and his financial situation is getting desperate. One advertisement grabs his attention: