LAWS 2231 ‑ Current Issues in Labour & Employment Law: Innis Christie Visiting Professor (Intensive)

CREDIT HOURS: 1

Three specialized legal regimes have governed labour and employment over the last half century: the common law, labour relations statutes for unionized sectors and employment standards codes for non-unionized employees. These have become supplemented by workers compensation legislation, unemployment insurance schemes, regulatory regimes for pensions, occupational health and safety statutes, and the like. Human rights legislation, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, international treaties and supra-national institutions have also had a striking impact on regulation of the workplace. In addition to these evolving legal parameters, the globalized “new economy” has changed the nature of work and its regulation in a need for what many Europeans term “flexicurity”: flexibility for workers and industries to compete successfully in new markets and security for vulnerable workers and industries as they face challenges under such conditions. Integrated labour markets are becoming a key subject of concern for those promoting balanced economic, social and political development under contemporary conditions for international trade and investment. This course will explore a constellation of these legal and policy issues, which may vary from year to year in accordance with the focus of the scholar invited to teach the course. The course is intended to reflect broad theoretical yet practical approaches as exemplified by former Dean Innis Christie when he taught these and related subjects at Dalhousie Law School for more than 30 years prior to his untimely death in 2009.

Prerequisite(s): None.
Co-requisite(s): Labour Law (LAWS 2014) or Employment Law (LAWS 2048).
Assessment Method: By examination or short paper on a pass/fail basis. Full details on evaluation will be provided to students prior to registration.
Restrictions: 1 credit intensives are unavailable to audit.