Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Law Reform

This DVD is a curriculum-based resource for Grade 10 Civics, and Grade 11 and 12 Law teachers. The material is designed to stimulate class reflection, discussion and debate on issues such as hatred, hate crimes, discrimination, racism and human rights. The materials have been developed to create a resource which provides ideas and activities for enhancing student understanding of these controversial topics. The specific focus centres on strategies for combating hatred.

Developed in 2002 to complement the already broad range of Law Day activities, OJEN’s Great Debate is an annual event designed to enliven current issues in the justice system before an audience of high school teachers and students.

This DVD includes a video of the 2007 bilingual Great Debate, and accompanying teacher resource packages, including viewing notes, related classroom activities and lesson plans. The topic for the 2007 Great Debate was “How do we ensure access to justice for all?”

In the context of government, a constitution can be understood as the most basic and important legal expression of a nations values, rules and principles. It is not simply a “law”, but rather a set of rules for making laws, managing relationships between individuals and the state, and defining the various roles of different levels of government. Suitable for Grade 10 Civics classes, this handout provides classroom discussion questions and activities to support the development of students’ understanding of constitutional law in the Canadian context.

Each OJEN Landmark Case includes a case summary, classroom discussion questions and worksheets that encourage students to explore both the legal and societal importance of the case.