Constitutional Law of Canada

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Assess the importance of constitutional law in relation to the distribution of public goods and legal entitlements to individuals, communities, and political jurisdictions.
• Assess claims concerning the nature and value of human rights in liberal democracies; and
• Critically evaluate the Constitution of Canada, legal doctrine thereon, and ongoing academic and political debates calling for new interpretations or reforms;
• Construct arguments clearly and coherently in writing and orally through seminar discussion;
• Assess the value of federalism as a mode of constitutional governance and choices concerning how to distribute and interpret constitutional powers in federal states;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The principles of constitutionalism that underpin the doctrinal rules and application of the law;
• The development, nature, and rules of and norms concerning Canadian federalism, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the constitutional status of Canada’s Indigenous peoples; and
• The historical evolution of Canada and its evolution into a constitutional state;
• Major political and academic debates concerning discrete issues within categories above.
• The sources of constitutional law in Canada and differences between them;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Exercise initiative, responsibility, and creativity to conduct a piece of independent research.
• Engage and apply comparative and critical approaches to a wide variety of issues;
• Think critically about the implications of the assigned materials for modern law in historically diverse and complex political communities;
• Think critically, develop coherent arguments, and communicate these arguments to a group of peers; and
• Locate and analyse relevant legal, political, historical, and other primary and secondary source materials;

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Essay

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Written feedback.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.