Wednesday, October 11. 2023

Today's schedule is BADC

B Block Human Geography - Today we will continue with the key question "Why Does Development Vary among Countries"? To help:

So, we'll look at the economic sectors that contribute to economic development

We'll even look at the economic argument connected to productivity

This will help with your questions about the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary sectors of the economy, trends in economic growth and your two really big thinking questions to work on for me connected to this topic:

1. If you were to create an index of development, what indicators would you use, and why (look at the UN HDI Indicators for Canada in the booklet)? How would you weigh each indicator? Could your index be used around the world, or would it be mostly relevant to our society?
2. The HDI is used to measure development at a whole-country level. Is it adequate to measure development within a country? Why or why not? (Another way of thinking about this: Are there minority groups that may be “glossed over” by the HDI?

A Block Legal Studies - Today, we'll take a closer look at the concepts of bias, prejudice, and discrimination. After a quick brainstorming and discussion session, we'll look at Human Rights and how they are enforced in Canada. We'll talk about the methods of enforcing rights guaranteed under the Charter (section 52 of the Constitution Act and Section 24 of the Charter). Remedies affecting unconstitutional legislation are usually dealt with under s. 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982, which holds that: 

The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada, and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect. 

 So what can the courts do?

1. Striking Down – A court may declare that a law that infringes the Charter is nullified and is of no force of effect (as in Canada v. Bedford where the SCC ruled that three provisions of Canada’s Criminal Code, s. 210 keeping or being found in a bawdy house, s. 212(1)(j) living on the avails of prostitution, and s. 213(1)(c) communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution violate the s. 7 right to security of the person protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms).
2. Partial Invalidity – A common alternative to striking down an entire law is to declare only the unconstitutional portion(s) of the law invalid. The specific provision will be declared invalid rather than striking down the entire Criminal Code. If the court has ordered the law, in whole or in part, to be struck down, Parliament or a provincial legislature may choose to redraft that law so that it complies with the Charter.
3. Reading Down – Reading down is where the court interprets the legislation in a sufficiently narrow way to bring it in line with the Charter (as in R v Butler, where the SCC read down the extremely broad terms of the obscenity laws in the Criminal Code in order to avoid an infringement of freedom of expression. The court held that the provision should be interpreted narrowly to catch only certain forms of pornography. 
4. Reading In – This technique is used when a statute is under-inclusive and fails to extend to those who have a legitimate constitutional claim to its protection. In such cases, the court may “read in” those categories of individuals rather than strike down the law entirely. (NOTE: Reading in is a controversial remedy as the court appears to be taking on a legislative role and adding to the legislation itself)
5. Constitutional Exemption – A court may order that a particular law is valid but a certain individual is exempt from its application. This remedy is rarely applied and used only in exceptional circumstances (as in Carter v Canada (AG) where the SCC suspended its decision on physician assisted suicide for one year, but also granted Taylor an immediate exemption that allowed her to seek doctor-assisted suicide under certain conditions).

What are the remedies available?

An example? 

Quebec's Bill 21 (2019, chapter 12) An Act respecting the laicity of the State and the 

Canadian Civil Liberties Association challenge to the legislation.

To finish, I'll have you work on and complete the following today and tomorrow in class...

Questions 1-4 on page 94:

1. Explain the difference between civil rights and human rights.
2. How do prejudice and stereotyping lead to discrimination?
3. Explain the difference between a complainant and a respondent.
4. What is the difference between intentional and unintentional discrimination?

Questions 4 & 5 from page 97:

4. Explain the concept of a poisoned work environment. Provide an example.
5. Explain the difference between accommodation and undue hardship.

AND Question 5 from page 104:

5. What types of remedies are available under human rights law?

For more on the BC Human Rights Code look at the Attorney General's Human Rights Protection site. or the BC Human Rights Commissioner or the BC Human Rights Tribunal. For more on the Canadian Human Rights Act see the Canadian Department of Justice site. For more on Human Rights in Canada see the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

FYI: Friday (October 13th - Aaahhhhhh...Friday the 13th?!) is your introductory unit final test in Law. The unit test will cover the first three chapters of the All About Law text and will have: 15 True/False questions; 15 Multiple Choice questions; 15 Matching questions; and 3 Short Answer questions. You should be fluent in the following topics:

Substantive and Procedural Law

Divisions of Public and Private Law (Criminal, Constitutional and Administrative for Public and Tort, Family, Contract, Property and Labour for Private)

Case Law (precedent) and Statute Law

Understanding Case Citations (R v. Person....Person v. Person)

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Section 1 Reasonable Limits, Section 2 Fundamental Freedoms, Section 6 Mobility Rights, Sections 7-14 Legal Rights, Section 15 Equality Rights and Section 33 Notwithstanding Clause)

Charter changes (Read in, Read down and Strike down) and Solutions (Remedies)

Discrimination and Human Rights

Human Rights issues for women (pay equity, employment equity, unintentional or adverse effect discrimination - poisoned work environments)

Human Rights issues for Canada's Indigenous populations (Calder, Glaude and Delgamuukw decisions)

Remember, no lawyer works in isolation and on your test neither will you. You may not use notes, however, you may collaborate with colleagues on the test.

D/C Blocks Social and Environmental Sciences - This afternoon your assignment is to participate in a round table discussion about what a renegotiated Colorado River water compact should include. This is a discussion not necessarily a debate, so listening is really important. Listening is an essential skill and an important element of any discussion. Effective listeners don't just hear what is being said - they think about it and actively process it. So,

• Be an active listener and don't let your attention drift. Stay attentive and focus on what is being said.
• Identify the main ideas being discussed. 
• Evaluate what is being said. Think about how it relates to the main idea/ theme of the discussion. 
• Listen with an open mind and be receptive to new ideas and points of view. Think about how they fit in with what you have already learned. 
• Test your understanding. Mentally paraphrase what other speakers say. 
• Ask yourself questions as you listen.
• Take notes about things to which you could respond or that can be added to your knowledge. 

Remember, instead of states you will be representing "user groups" (agriculture, municipalities, power generation, recreation, environmental organizations, Indigenous governments).

We will first ask each group to explain their point of view (how you use water, what you need and why). This is focused around a "needs assessment" of...

• An assessment of consumptive water needs (municipal, industrial, and agricultural);
• An assessment of nonconsumptive water needs (environmental and recreational);
• An assessment of available water supplies (surface and groundwater) and an analysis of any unappropriated waters; and
• Proposed methods to meet any identified water needs and achieve water supply sustainability over time

Then we will ask you to try to find a solution to increasing demand and dwindling supply. This will be focused around six themes/goals:

1. Protect and Restore Healthy Streams, Rivers, Lakes and Riparian Areas

2. Sustain Agriculture

3. Secure Safe Drinking Water

4. Develop Local Water Conscious Land Use Strategies

5. Assure Dependable Basin Administration

6. Encourage a High Level of Basin wide Conservation

For this part of the round table (find a solution to increasing demand and dwindling supply), consider the following questions:

• What re-allocation schemes are feasible (doable)?
• What changes regarding allocations and water rights should be made?
• How would these changes impact other stakeholders?
• Are all the many uses of the Colorado River compatible? If not, what should the priorities be and why?
• Are there fair ways to move water from one use to another?

Today's Fit...