Canadian and international law 40s January 10, 2012 Sources of Law Canadian and international law 40s January 10, 2012

Sources of Canadian Law Canada is a relatively new country However, Canada’s legal system has a historical development of over 1000 years. The Canadian legal system’s values and beliefs are based on actions and decisions of the past. The parts of the legal system that have the longest historical development are our Primary Sources of Law.

One of the biggest influence on the historical development of Canadian Law is the Christian religion. The Old Testament of the Bible, known as the “Torah” means “Instructions” in Hebrew. The Torah contains the 10 Commandments which are moral rules for people to live by.

What are the 10 Commandments?

10 Commandments 1. You shall have no other gods before me. 2.You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments.

10 Commandments 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

10 Commandments 5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10 Commandments 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

When the 16th and 17th Christian ministries came to Canada they brought their religious beliefs with them.

Canadian Criminal Code S. 235 (1) Every one who commits first degree murder or second degree murder is guilty of an indictable offence and shall be sentences to imprisonment for life. S. 344 Every person who commits robbery is guilty of an indictable offence and liable… to imprisonment for life. S. 132 Everyone who commits perjury is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Preamble “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the Supremacy of God and the rule of law”. 1982

The Lord’s Day Act Formed in 1882 Stated that it was illegal to conduct business on a Sunday. Section 4 of the Lord’s Day Act It is not lawful for any person on the Lord’s Day, except as provided herein…to sell or offer for sale or purchase any goods, chattels, or other personal property, or any real estate, or to carry on or transact any business of his ordinary calling, or in connection with such calling, or for gain to do, or employ any other person to do, on that day, any work, business, or labour.

The Lord’s Day Act Section 5: any worker required to work on a Sunday (in conformity with the Act) must be given a substitute day of rest. Section 6: Any games or performances that charged a fee were prohibited. Section 7: Any transportation for pleasure that required a fee were prohibited. Section 8: Any advertisement of anything that did not conform with the Act were prohibited. Section 9: Prohibited the shooting of firearms on a Sunday. Section 10: Prohibited the sale or distribution of a foreign newspaper.

Canadian Bill of Rights Passed 1960 R v. Robertson and Rosetanni, 1962 Argued the Lord’s Day Act violated their right to freedom of religion (Bill of Rights) R v. Big M Drug Mart What do you think about the court’s decision?

Morality Are moral people religious? Can non-religious people be moral? Is the influence of religion still important today? Canada was founded on the Christian religion, are other religions included in the Canadian legal system? Oath

Other Sources of Historical Influence Religion Greek Roman Aboriginal

Exit Card What do you think are the major influences of your native country’s legal system? Do you think it is similar to Canada’s legal system? How so? How is it different?