Lesson 3 — Activity 1: Rules, Laws, and Justice

Of course, your school has rules, and even teachers have rules that you are expected to follow while you are in their classrooms.

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If you are on a sports team, there are rules for playing the game that are standard for all players of that game, but a team may have rules that apply just to that team.

Rules keep people safe, keep the peace, and ensure quality of life for everyone within a group or organization.

The laws in your community work in a very similar way but on a much larger scale. How is a law different from a rule? Laws are official rules that are made by one of the three levels of government under which Canadians live. They are firmly in place and can only be changed by the government. Bylaws are passed by municipal governments and only apply to those within that municipality or region. You will learn more about bylaws in the lessons to come. In this lesson, you will learn about the other two main types of laws in Canada.

Civil Laws

Civil laws concern social practices, personal treatment, and property rights, including:

• the legal attributes of a person (e.g., name, age of majority)
• the relationship between individuals (e.g., marriage, adoption, parentage)
• property (e.g., possession, land boundaries)
• the legal institutions relating to these relationships (e.g., wills, sales, leases, partnerships)

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With the exception of Québec, Canadian civil law is based on British common law. Québec falls under two codes — the Civil Code of Québec and the Civil Code of Lower Canada. Sometimes claims are settled out of court, but if this doesn't happen, those involved have the right to have their positions heard and ruled on by the courts.

Criminal Laws

Criminal laws are the ones that most people know about. These are the ones that address actual crimes against property and people. Some examples of criminal laws include vandalism, assault, theft, and murder. Those who are charged for breaking laws that fall under the Criminal Code of Canada face arrest and must then go through a process that determines their guilt or innocence.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is a document that outlines the rules for dealing with youth, aged 12 to 18, who break a law under Canada's Criminal Code. In a later lesson, you will learn more about each of these laws, what happens to a person who breaks them, and the process that determines whether a person is guilty or innocent. All cases concerning these laws are tried in courts that fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, but they are all bound by the same federal laws.

Laws bring order into society and impact every aspect of life. Laws are meant to control or change behaviour, and the courts enforce them. Laws affect all Canadians, but not all laws are necessarily the same for all Canadians. The reasons for these differences are usually based on the needs of the regions or groups that are covered by a particular set of laws.

Self-check!