POL214Y1 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Parliament Of Canada, Canada, Province Of Canada
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POL214Y1
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Codes:
SCC: Supreme Court of Canada
JCPC: Judicial Committee of Privy Council
The Constitution:
• What is a Constitution?
• Constitutional Evolution in law
• The Constitution as a 'Living Tree'.
• Three Constitutional Pillars
• Uppercase 'C' "Constitution" VERSUS Lower case 'c' "constitution"
What is a Constitution?
• A fundamental law, a foundational principle
• Was not made from problematic events
• Is the supreme law of Canada
o Any part of law that is inconsistent with the Constitution will not be reinforced
• Internal to humans
o In human minds
• A piece of collective consciousness
o It is understood internally, not external
• When the Constitution is read into, it can identify different components:
o Formal documents
o Unwritten rules
o Decisions made by courts
• Operates within a geographical area
o Only in Canada
o If outside of Canada, you are entitled to certain sections of the Constitution
• Omar Khadr in Guantanamo Bay
▪ Found that it was unfair he was spending the time there, brought him
home
• Canadian soldiers being charged while in other countries such as Afghanistan
cannot happen because they are not within the Constitution
• Parliament supremacy
o What parliament says, goes
o With the charter, everyone has rights and freedoms (including corporations)
o Before the charter, the only rights people had were under 'common law'
• The Charter defines the relationship between citizens and government
o Different rules apply to corporations
• EX: A woman living in an apartment as a citizen may choose to only allow
women in her apartment, and not men. However, a restaurant cannot only allow
one specific gender or race in the restaurant as that will be discriminating
against everyone else
• All constitutions lay out who is in charge
o In 1867, it was not mentioned that there was a prime minister
Constitutional Evolution in Law:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• In the 1780s, America brought about the Constitution through individual rights
• Charter is part of the Constitution, which is the way to get civil rights
• 1763: Royal Proclamation
o Issued by King George after 7 year war in France
o Britain now gets what is now known as Quebec, Nova Scotia, Florida, etc.
o In addition to designating authority, it is also referred to in the 1985 Constitution
o Aboriginals have a direct link to the Crown when Canada became an independent
country
o The Attorney General of Canada can verse the attorney general of Ontario
o Continues to be relevant in Canada
o Provided for elections
• However, Catholics could not participate in any public affairs as Catholicism
was not recognized (under British law)
• 1774: Quebec Act
o Reinstates Catholic rights
• Catholics get the rights they do not have in Britain, in Quebec
o French are entitled to French Civil Code
o Reinstating the seniorial system
• Father passing down to the eldest son
o Why did the British Parliament introduce this to Canada?
• There were talks of a potential revolution in Canada
• Britain wanted France to remain with them
• American Revolution broke out
▪ Americans telling France to turn again British as they could be
independent, however French still trusted British
o British extended boundaries of Quebec to include:
• Ontario to the Ohio river and the east bank of Mississippi
• 1791: Constitutional Act
o There was a revolution in the US, but they were numerous people wanting to remain
loyal to the British crown
• Therefore, people from the 13 colonies moved north to Canada
o The people from the 13 colonies wanted what they had while they were there, in
Canada
• These people are named 'United Empire Loyalist'
• Americans call them tourists
• The people wanted elections
• A governor was elected by the people of the King, who then chose who he
wanted in his cabinet
o Two columns: Upper Canada and Lower Canada
o There was a rebellion since people were getting deported
• The people then wanted the ability to practice the same as in Britain, fair
election to elect who they want, not who the governor wants
• 1840: Act of Union
o Allowed a person to have a federal and provincial identity
o Upper and lower Canada became one province of Canada and outnumbered all the
English
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The constitution: what is a constitution, constitutional evolution in law, the constitution as a "living tree", three constitutional pillars, uppercase "c" constitution versus lower case "c" constitution What is a constitution: a fundamental law, a foundational principle, was not made from problematic events. Is the supreme law of canada: any part of law that is inconsistent with the constitution will not be reinforced. In human minds: a piece of collective consciousness. It is understood internally, not external: when the constitution is read into, it can identify different components, formal documents, unwritten rules, decisions made by courts, operates within a geographical area, only in canada. However, a restaurant cannot only allow one specific gender or race in the restaurant as that will be discriminating against everyone else: all constitutions lay out who is in charge. In 1867, it was not mentioned that there was a prime minister.
