Administrative Law - deals with the actions of agencies that are empowered to regulate various social activities. For example, a government agency will determin your eligibility for employment insurance or certain medical benefits.
Constitutional Law - sets out how the country is to be governed, as well as the distribution of powers between levels of government. This type of law is the supreme law of the land and embodies important legal principles such as those found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Criminal Law - deals with the prohibition and punishment of behaviours that harm people, property, and society as a whole.
Environmental Law - deals with complex systems of law that work to protect the natural environment. Some environmental laws regulate the impact of human activities. An example of this is setting allowable levels of pollution. Other environmental laws are preventative.
Tax Law -deals with a codified system concerning the levies on economic transactions (taxes).
Aboriginal Law - deals with a comprehensive series of acts and regulations concerning the First Nations, Metis and Inuit of Canada.
Commercial Law - governs business transactions, except those relating to the maritime transportation of goods. Commercial law developed as a distinct body of jurisprudence with the beginning of large-scale trade.
Contract Law - applies when people and/or companies enter into agreements, verbal or written, to purchase or provide goods and services.
Labour Law - involves all the law rulings, and precedents which deal with relationships between and among employers, employees, and labour organizations. It is not the same as employment law as employment law only deals with employment contracts, discrimination in the work place, and private law issues.
Family Law - governs family members, including marriage, divorces, child custody, and spousal and chid support.
Property Law - includes everything from copyright or patents (for ideas) to jewelry, clothes, land, and buildings. The most common branch of property law deals with the buying, selling, and renting of land or buildings. In these situations, you will need to become aware of the Tenant Protections Act.
Tort Law - deals with any wrongs or damage (independent of a contractual agreement) that a company or person causes another. This area of law allows you to sue for financial compensation.
Wills and Estates Law - deals with how an individual’s property is distributed after death. This area of law deals with wills that clearly layout an individual’s wishes.