Welcome
Welcome to CPPA301: Administrative Law.
For many of you, this is the first law course that you have taken. Welcome! Please do not feel
intimidated or overwhelmed. You are not expected to have prior in-depth legal knowledge and
experience. Law is simply politics by other means; administrative law regulates how governments
make decisions.
As you read through the content, think of this as an opportunity to contemplate how the themes play
out in your own workplace and your personal environment – reflect on your personal experiences.
This course provides you with the tools to critically evaluate governmental decision-making processes
and the quality of our democracy in the current political climate. This is the central theme of
administrative law. The goal is to encourage you to think about the political implications of these
issues. Further, you are encouraged to contemplate how the decisions made by administrators have
an impact upon the rights and lives of others.
There are 12 modules of content in this course. Each week, you will have a new module with
assigned readings, content, and learning activities. You will be encouraged to share your experiences
as we work through examples and participate in weekly discussions.
Before moving into the first week’s content, this course overview will help you to navigate through the
course and modules. The pages that follow will cover:
Getting around the course
Working your way through the modules
Setting norms and expectations
Source: Pixabay
Getting Around the Course
If you haven’t already done so, review the “Student Support” link in the main course menu for a
general introduction to the tools used in online courses at The Chang School.
This is the first of what we call weekly modules or lessons. Within each individual module, you will
notice that there are very similar menu links on the left side. Make sure you look through all of them.
Each week, there will be brief introductory material, learning objectives, module content, readings,
and learning activities. (You may also have additional resources in some modules.)
The introductory materials will provide you with a brief introduction to the week’s content, and may
also remind you of links to previous weeks’ concepts that you might wish to refer to or review prior to
starting on the new module.
The learning objectives are provided as a tool to ensure you have adequately worked though the
content of the week and have a good understanding of the concepts and material. Use the objectives
as your own indicator of whether you’ve sufficiently met the learning goals for that week.
The main module content will consist of a combination of text, visuals, video clips, or links, or other
kind of media that are provided to help you learn more about the topics covered that week. The hope
is that you find the materials here as conversational and understandable as in-class lectures.
The module readings are another important part of your learning. Some weeks have more reading
than others, so make sure you set aside time each week to go through the readings and try to
understand the concepts and discussions that the authors are presenting. Most of the module content
will help you “unpack” the concepts and material that you will encounter, so doing the readings
alongside the module content is always a good idea.
The activities section is to test your own knowledge – this is optional but helpful, especially in
preparing for tests or exams.
The assignments section will describe which assignments you are required to do each week to
complete the module. Most weeks, assignments will include discussion questions to which you are
expected to contribute in the online discussion forum. Many of the assignments are also listed in the
Course Outline, which is located in the Course Materials area of the course. It is very helpful to review
the Course Schedule page in the Course Outline prior to reviewing the content of each module.
The resources in the references section of your modules are not resources that you are required to
access. They are simply references, readings, and web resources for you to refer to in the event that
you want to learn more about a topic, in addition to the module content and readings, or if you wish to
do additional research on a topic for one of your assignments.
Working Your Way Through the Modules
It is recommended that, each week, you read the introduction and learning objectives and make sure
you are familiar with any assignments required of you. Then, do the readings that are assigned. After
you have gone through the readings once, read through the content for the week. You should start to
have a better understanding of the material as a result and can then engage in the activities and
assignments. As a final step, go back to the learning objectives to make sure that, for the most part,
you can meet each of the objectives. If you can’t, you’ll need to refer back to the content and
readings, along with the activities and assignments, to try to ensure that you can meet the objectives.
Remember, while the modules are week-by-week, you can always refer back to a previous module to
review concepts or revisit difficult topics. The content, discussions, activities, and assignments will all
be visible for the entire course, so that, in addition to your more linear week-by-week movement
through the course, you can also move around as you wish to ensure you’re learning what you need,
when you need it.
One important part of working through an online course is keeping up. While, yes, the modules and
assignments are all visible throughout the life of the course, you are required to engage in the module
content during the specific week it is running. The good thing about an online course is that you can
work on the requirements whenever you want, wherever you want. If you want to post a comment at 3
a.m. one night, that’s fine! And, while this is a good thing in terms of flexibility, it can be confusing in
terms of module “start” and “finish” times.
A Note on Weekly Activities
Each module represents a week and the active work will take place during that week. That
means that you are required to complete the learning activities during the module week,
whether it is Week 1 or Week 6.
Discussion boards for a particular module will only be active for that module’s week, and you
are expected to post any required postings during that week.
Remember, though, that if a deadline to contribute to the discussion board is May 8, please
don’t wait until May 7 at 11 p.m. to post. The goal of online discussions is to generate
discussion, and part of your participation as a group or an individual is to take part in
discussion, not simply post a one-way “here it is!” kind of message. You’ll get much more out
of any course if you generate and engage in active discussion with others.
Setting Norms and Expectations
As part of any learning experience, whether in the classroom or online, setting norms is an important
step to creating a learning environment that supports open discussion and critical thinking. Some of
the topics we will discuss in our online discussions and modules will be contentious or may well be
topics about which you hold a strong opinion one way or another. While you will be encouraged to
share your views and opinions, make sure you do this in a civil and constructive way. It’s okay to
disagree – in fact, it’s great – but let’s make sure that we do so in a way that is respectful of our own
and others people’s differences. At the end of the day, we often find we have to agree to disagree.
The important part is not whether we agree; but rather, it’s the quality of the discussion we have.
The same kind of “netiquette” rules that apply to any online discussion apply here as well. Please see
the Course Outline for more details.
Topics and Learning Objectives
The topics to be covered in this module are:
Canada’s legal system
Case law
Administrative law
After successfully completing this module, reading the required readings, and participating in the
week’s activities and assignments, you should be able to:
Describe how the Canadian legal system is organized and functions
Interpret and analyze case law
Explain the nature and function of administrative law
Compare and contrast the differences between courts and administrative tribunals
Identify which types of matters are dealt with by various administrative agencies
Readings
Flood, C. M. & Daly P. (2022) A map for the complex world of administrative decision-making
and the law. Administrative law in context (4th ed.) (Chapter 1). Toronto: Emond.
Source: Pexels
Understanding Law
At its simplest level, law is a set of rules that governments enact, which are aimed at governing our
conduct in a variety of policy areas (e.g., labour relations, the environment, marriage and divorce,
criminal matters, etc.). In other words, law embodies our rights and responsibilities in various spheres
of activity. The emphasis is on conduct: laws regulate what members of any given society can and
cannot do. While laws can govern behaviour, the law cannot change how we feel or think. For
example, human rights laws can prohibit racist, sexist, and other discriminatory conduct but these
laws cannot, and do not, eliminate racist or sexist attitudes or beliefs.
Laws are not a guarantee that people will not engage in unlawful conduct. Laws are frequently
broken. Sometimes, the people who break the law are caught and sometimes they are not. Those
who are caught are typically charged and will have an opportunity to explain and defend themselves.
Those who are convicted will face penalties ranging from jail time to fines to a specific punishment
related to the offence (e.g., having a driver’s licence revoked for the criminal offence of driving while
intoxicated).
It is commonly thought that law is fixed and unchangeable. However, this is not true. Governments
amend, repeal, and introduce new laws on a regular basis. Law has to change to keep up with
developments and progress of our society. Judges interpret and apply the law, but they are bound by
precedent. This means that the judges of the lower courts are bound by the relevant decisions of the
higher courts. Despite following precedent, there are times when a case is distinguishable and the
earlier decision is not followed (e.g., different fact situation or there has been a societal shift since the
first case was decided).
While judges apply the laws passed by governments, they also have a role in shaping the law. Unlike
elected officials, judges cannot introduce or pass legislation (e.g., the Criminal Code of Canada).
However, their decisions are enforceable and are known as the common law. The enactments of
elected officials, on the other hand, are known as statutory laws.
There is a difference between law and policy. Law, unlike policy, is binding. Policies cannot bind
anyone, that is, require or prohibit certain conduct. Think of the relationship between laws and
policies as follows: laws are the set of rules and policies are guidelines that assist with the
interpretation of these laws.
Source: Flickr (Sheba under CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Constitutional Framework
The organization of Canada’s judicial system is a function of the Constitution Act, 1867. Authority
for the judicial system and law-making powers is divided between the federal government and the
provincial governments based on subject matter. The provincial governments are given jurisdiction
over the administration of justice in their respective provinces, including the administration of civil
and criminal courts. However, this provincial jurisdiction does not extend to the appointment of all of
the required judges. The power to appoint the judges of the superior courts in the provinces (which
includes the provincial appeal courts and the trial courts of general jurisdiction) is allocated to the
federal government.
The Constitution also gives the federal government the jurisdiction to establish a general court of
appeal for Canada and any additional courts for the better administration of the laws of
Canada. The federal government has used this authority to create the Supreme Court of Canada as
well as the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, and the Tax Court of Canada. Further, the
federal government has exclusive authority over the procedure in courts of criminal jurisdiction.
In 1982, the Constitution was amended (updated) to include the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms. The Constitution is known as the supreme law of Canada and since the Charter forms
part of the Constitution, it is one of the most important laws that we have in Canada and it applies
even when other laws might appear to contradict it.
Source: Flickr (Kristle under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Canada’s Court System
The courts in Canada are organized in a four-tiered system. The Supreme Court of Canada is the
highest court in the land, hearing appeals from both the federal and provincial court systems. There
are no appeals from decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Below the Supreme Court sit the Federal Court of Appeal and the provincial courts of appeal (e.g.,
the Ontario Court of Appeal). Two of these provincial courts also function as the courts of appeal for
the three federal territories in northern Canada: the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, and the
Nunavut Territory.
The next tier down consists of the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada, and the provincial and
territorial superior courts of general jurisdiction.
The lower rung consists of provincial/territorial courts, which typically include divisions defined by
area of law, including traffic, small claims, family, and criminal.
For a pictorial representation of the court system in Canada, see below:
Figure 1.1. The court system hierarchy in Canada.
Source: Department of Justice, Government of Canada
Note: Provincial and federal tribunals are listed in the bottom row of this illustration even though
tribunals are technically not considered to be part of the Canadian court system.
Click-n-reveal: The Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is comprised of a chief justice and eight other judges. Due to the
unique nature of the Quebec Civil Code, at least three justices must come from Quebec in order
to properly interpret and apply Code matters. The Supreme Court is a general court of appeal
hearing cases from all other Canadian courts. For that reason, it has jurisdiction over disputes
in all areas of the law, including constitutional, administrative, criminal, and private law.
In most cases, appeals are heard by the court only if they agree to hear the case. They are
more likely to do so in instances involving a question of public importance (e.g., constitutional or
Charter of Rights and Freedoms issues or perhaps a case that addresses issues of wide
interest to the general public, such as the right to healthcare). Before an appeal of a civil case
(and some criminal cases) is heard by the Supreme Court of Canada, the person wishing to
bring the appeal must seek leave to appeal by asking the Supreme Court of Canada, in writing,
for permission.
Aside from hearing appeals, governments may refer to the Supreme Court important questions
of law or fact concerning the interpretation of the Constitution, the constitutionality or
interpretation of any federal or provincial legislation, the powers of Parliament or of the
provincial legislatures or their respective governments, or any other important question of law.
Constitutional questions may also be raised in regular appeals. In such cases the federal and
provincial governments are notified of the constitutional question and may intervene to argue it.
Source: Flickr (detsang under CC BY 2.0)
Click-n-reveal: Federal Courts
The Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court have jurisdiction over issues regulated by
federal legislation (e.g., inter-provincial transportation, communications systems, etc.).
Click-n-reveal: Tax Court of Canada
The Tax Court of Canada was established in 1983. It has as its primary responsibility the
hearing of income tax appeals. Its predecessor, the Tax Review Board, was an administrative
tribunal.
Click-n-reveal: Provincial and Territorial Superior Courts
The superior courts of each province and territory include both a court of general trial
jurisdiction and a provincial court of appeal. A significant feature of these courts is that that
jurisdiction is not limited to matters over which the provincial governments have legislative
jurisdiction. In this respect, they are very different from the state courts in the United States.
Click-n-reveal: Provincial and Territorial Lower Courts
These courts may be at the bottom of the hierarchy, but they handle the overwhelming majority
of cases coming into the Canadian court system. They deal with a broad range of criminal
matters, family law, and all of the civil litigation in which the amount at issue is relatively small
(e.g., small claims cases).
Source: Flickr (Sean Marshall under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Reading Case Law
Reading a court decision can feel overwhelming but, with experience, the case law will become
easier to understand. There certainly will be an opportunity to gain expertise with case law because
there will be a number of cases as assigned readings in this course.
Cases may seem long and daunting but, when broken down, they are more accessible than you
think. These decisions are usually examples of outstanding writing and logical argument that may
serve as useful samples for your own writing.
One of the required cases that you will read later in this course is R. v. Conway. We will use this
case as an example in order to work through the different headings to help you understand it better. A
screenshot of a portion of the case is posted below:
Screenshot 1

Source: Supreme Court of Canada
Screenshot 2
Here is another screenshot from the case:

Source: Supreme Court of Canada
Screenshot 3
The final screenshot to be discussed:

Source: Supreme Court of Canada
For more information on how to read case law, please see How to Read a Law School Casebook on
Lexis Nexis, a legal publishing company.
Legal Citations
Legal citations are primarily used by lawyers and judges to identify the cases and where they have
been published. Proper citations will also form an important part of the resources that you cite for the
assignments in this course. As such, it is necessary for you to understand what is contained in legal
citations.
Citing Cases
In order to demonstrate the proper way to cite cases, the Conway case will be used as an
example:
R. v. Conway, 2010 SCC, [2010] 1 S.C.R. 765.
R. v. Conway is referred to as the style of cause. It identifies the parties in this case. “R.”
refers to “Regina,” which is the title used to represent the Queen. Conway is one of the
parties.
“2010 SCC” identifies it as a case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2010.
“[2010] 1 S.C.R. 765” shows where it has been published. In this case, it was published in the
Supreme Court Reports in 2010. And, it can be located in the first volume of this series for the
year 2010. It may seem redundant to have Supreme Court listed twice, but not all cases are
published in a reporting series that has the same name as the court (e.g., the Ontario Reports
is a common reporter series that does not give any indication as to which court heard the
matter).
For more information about how to cite law, please go to the Legal Tree website or the Oxford
LibGuides website.
Citing Legislation
It may also be necessary for you to cite legislation. For example, this is a statute that will be
discussed in this course:
Statutory Powers and Procedures Act, RSO 1990, c. S.22
In this case, “Statutory Powers and Procedures Act” is the name of the statute (it is the
statute that established the procedural rules for administrative tribunals).
“RSO” is the name of the statute series in which the Act appears (in this case, it is the Revised
Statutes of Ontario).
“1990” refers to the year in which the statute was last published in a revised volume (note:
1990 is the last year that revised volumes were published in print – it is now updated
electronically).
“c” stands for chapter.
“S.22” indicates that it is chapter “S” (the letter “S” makes reference to the first letter of the
name of the act – “Statutory”) and the number “22” indicates that this statute was the twentysecond statute beginning with the letter “S” in the 1990 edition of the Revised Statutes of
Ontario.
For more information on the legal citation for statutes and other resources, please see the Ontario
Justice Education Network citation guide [PDF].
Source: Flickr (wp paarz under CC BY-SA 2.0)
What Is Administrative Law?
Administrative law regulates the “how” rather than the “what” of government decisions (e.g., the
decision-making process rather than the content of the decision). In other words, someone who
believes that a governmental decision affecting them was made in an unfair manner can turn to the
courts. That is different, the courts say, than disagreeing with the content of the decision. The central
theme of administrative law is fair process in government.
The law views procedural fairness as distinct from substantive fairness (fair outcome).
While these issues have always been relevant, their importance grew as governments delegated
selected powers to state-created agencies, boards, and commissions in an effort to manage the
growing complexity and size of the welfare state. Governments also moved in this direction in an
effort to deflect mounting criticism from the people who felt their concerns were being ignored.
However, before long, public officials had to grapple with the competing need to control those to
whom powers were delegated in order to ensure that the governments’ intentions were accurately
reflected at all levels of the state apparatus. The tension between these two tendencies – delegating
but, at the same time, controlling state power – runs throughout administrative law and is manifested
in what is an ongoing battle between the courts and government. Administrative law is about
governmental decision-making in a democratic environment.
Video
To achieve a clearer understanding of administrative law, please watch this video by the
Justice Education Society of B.C. titled “What Is Administrative Law?” [8:36].
Administrative Tribunals
Although not courts, administrative tribunals are an integral component of the legal system that were
created by the Canadian government to resolve certain types of disputes. The tribunal decision
makers are not necessarily judges but are typically lawyers. Tribunals have been created for specified
areas of law that require a higher level of expertise than afforded by most generalist judges (e.g.,
immigration, social assistance, labour, healthcare, the environment).
The tribunal system was initially created to offer a less formal, less expensive, and less intimidating
environment in which people could have their legal issues resolved. Some of the tribunal hearings are
held in courtrooms, but the majority of the hearings are heard in either conference or meeting rooms.
The procedural rules vary from the courtroom and are often considered to be more flexible and
relaxed than in court. The intention was to simplify the process in order to provide an opportunity for
people to appear before the tribunals without hiring a lawyer. However, as the tribunal system evolved
and expanded it became a common area of practice for lawyers. Today, administrative tribunal
processes have become every bit as complex as those in the courts and the majority of people
attending a tribunal hearing are represented by a lawyer or a paralegal.
While tribunals are seen as a separate process that is not part of the court system, tribunals and
courts are interrelated in some ways. For example, an appeal from an administrative tribunal would
typically go to a court for review to ensure that the tribunal acted fairly and in accordance with the law.
Source: Flickr (Monsanto Tribunal under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Administrative Agencies, Boards, Commissions, and
Tribunals
Administrative law deals with various agencies, boards, commissions and tribunals. Using Ontario as
an example, they can be divided into ten different categories, as outlined in the table below.
Type of Administrative Agency
Example
Adjudicative Agencies
Ontario Labour Relations Board
Regulatory Agencies
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Advisory Agencies
Advisory Council on Drinking Water Quality and Testing
Standards
Operational Enterprises
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
Operational Services Agencies
Legal Aid Ontario
Crown Foundations
Toronto Arts Council Foundation
Trust Agencies
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
Non-Schedule Agencies
Board of Governors for the University of Toronto
“Watchdog” Bodies and Ombudsperson
Agencies
Ombudsman Ontario
Commissions and Inquiries
Ontario Information and Privacy Commission
These agencies provide a variety of different functions, including giving advice, regulating
businesses, setting standards, and adjudicating matters. They all have a specific function related to a
defined issue or topic (e.g., labour relations or human rights).
The types of agencies that will be the primary focus in this course are adjudicative agencies and
regulatory agencies. The adjudicative agencies are similar to courts in the sense that they make
independent decisions in order to resolve disputes within the agency’s area of expertise. Regulatory
agencies also make independent decisions that limit or promote the conduct of individuals,
businesses, or corporations.
Pause and Reflect
Have you ever had to deal with a matter by going through an administrative law procedure?
Take a moment to think about how the system worked (or not) for you.
Source: Flickr (wp paarz under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Summary
This module provided an overview of Canada’s legal system by examining law, the constitutional
framework, and the court system. In order to prepare for future course readings, case law and case
citations were also explained. Finally, we discussed administrative law and identified some of the
common administrative agencies.
In our next module, we are going to explore the jurisdiction and powers of administrative law so that
we can better understand the remedies and orders that are available through administrative law.
Discussion Board
Discussion
Move to the discussion board to share your thoughts about this question:
1. Choose an administrative agency, board, commission, or tribunal in Ontario. Using
information available on the agency’s website, briefly explain how they will attempt to
ensure fairness and justice (e.g., look for information relating to their procedures, goals,
role, mandate, or values).
Reminder
Remember, participation in the weekly discussions is worth 20% of your final grade. Your
weekly post and two weekly replies to classmates will form the basis of your self-assessment
of participation in the discussion board, due in Week 12. While individual discussion posts will
not be graded, all of your posts and all of your responses will be submitted as samples of your
work.
Tasks for the Week
Contribute to the weekly discussion board