This is the minds on icon.

Think about the many ways in which law connects to your daily life:

  • It governs the interactions between humans and our environment.
  • It regulates our banking institutions.
  • It outlines the way we can resolve conflict.
  • It articulates the rights and freedoms we enjoy as citizens and residents of Canada.
  • It controls our ability to leave and enter the country.
  • It identifies behaviour that we feel is unacceptable or dangerous.

You will also have noticed that there are often stories or issues in the media that relate to law.

Have a quick read of the following article:

Long Description

Did we get you?

What did you think when you read the article? Did it get you? To think critically does not mean to be critical or negative; it means to identify problems, to ask questions, to consider the sources of your information and to gather lots of information about an issue before drawing conclusions and making decisions.

Watch the TED Talk, 5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking. It is brief but informative. Notice that it discusses the relevance of critical thinking to your daily life.

Tip

It is important to keep a record of your sources when you are researching a topic. Information and ideas are shared all the time in a number of ways. Recording your sources is the way you recognize that you gathered those ideas and information from other people. It is the way you demonstrate academic integrity. You will be asked to record your sources for the assignment in this activity.

This is the action icon.

The article above, though it was an April Fool’s Day joke, does give you a glimpse into one way laws can develop in Canada. The Supreme Court can make a decision and that decision can alter the law and have a significant impact upon a particular aspect of the legal system.

What Else Contributes to Legal Development?

Read the brief excerpt below from the Government of Canada Department of Justice website.

Changing laws

Government legal experts are constantly examining our laws and looking for ways to improve them. Law reform committees also review laws and recommend changes. Lawyers bring questions of law to court to create change. Social action groups seek changes to laws that they consider unfair to members of Canadian society. Industry groups and other stakeholders meet with government decision makers in an effort to present their opinions on the direction of public policy. Legislators in the federal, provincial, and territorial governments respond by introducing new laws or changing old ones.

Ultimately, though, it is the people of Canada who elect the lawmakers. We as Canadians need to decide what we want from the law and then make sure it reflects those wishes. Everyone has the right to work toward changing the law.

This is the dropbox icon. Legal Developments Graphic Organizer

The big idea presented in the reading is that law is influenced by individuals, groups and government. Use the learning object below to explore some of the legal changes that have occurred in Canada, the forces that drove those changes and the influential players.

You will use a chart to help you organize the information presented. Some of the information has been completed to help you get started. Different people have distinct ways to organize their thinking. This is just one example; there is no “right” way. It is always good to take a minute to think about the way you organize your work.  As you move into the post-secondary world and the world of work, it is important to know your own organizational style.

As you work through the learning object, listen and read carefully. Use the Legal Development Graphic Organizer to help you organize the information presented and record your thoughts.

  1. Identify 5 key details. Record the important details in the first column of the graphic organizer.

  2. Determine the various influences on legal change. Some are completed as an example.

  3. Respond to the question(s) posed in the “Ask yourself” column.  

Long Description

This is the consolidation icon.

In this activity, you have had an opportunity to explore the legal thinking concepts and to consider the various influences on law over time.

This is the discussion icon. Thinking about Current Legal Issues

Write a journal to reflect upon a current legal issue.

Please incorporate the following:

  • Describe the issue. (e.g., assisted dying, regulation of dangerous substances, regulation of marijuana consumption, trade arrangements with other nations, Canada’s participation in international agreements, the sentencing in a high profile case, a proposed new law or change to an existing law, etc). Choose something of interest to you.
  • Connect the issue to at least two legal thinking concepts. (e.g., Ask yourself: Why is the issue important? How have the laws regarding this issue changed or stayed the same over time? Can I look at this issue from different perspectives, including a legal perspective? What are the influences upon this issue or how is it connected to other aspects of society?)
  • Reflect on the issue. What do you think at the present? Do you need more information to draw conclusions? What do you predict will happen in the near future?
  • Identify the sources of your information. Please use a minimum of two sources. Record the author, title, date and place or source of publication.

test text.