Look at the website for the Canadian Judicial Council: Home Page | Canadian Judicial Council (cjc-ccm.ca) What is the Canadian Judicial Council? Using both the CJC website and your textbook and lectures, consider the following. Before offering any opinion weigh the relative strengths and weaknesses of both sides of each argument carefully Do you agree that the Canada's judiciary is the weakest branch of government? Explain specifically how the institutional role of the judicial branch differs from that of the executive and the legislative branches in Canada. As part of this analysis you should consider what makes a branch of government weak or strong. You should also consider what is meant by the principle of judicial independence in Canada? In connection with your explanation of judicial independence, consider who appoints judges in the Canadian legal system. Can judges be removed from the bench for any reasons? If so, how? Consider how the powers of the judiciary have evolved in Canada's legal history and what that says about the relationship between democracy and the rule of law. Search the internet for an example of a Canadian judge who was investigated by the CJC and resigned before the investigation was complete, was disciplined or removed from office. How has the media reported on it? What have you learned either from the course materials or CJC website that might help you to understand what was being reported?

Identify the three broad legal systems which can be said to exist in Canada and explain how are they expressed in Canada's Constitution and legal order, be specific. 7 7 Then, account for how these legal systems grew out of Canada's legal history as you understand it. Consider whether these three legal systems are equal in Canada's Constitution or whether one or two systems of law predominate. Make reasoned arguments based on the structure of the Constitution. Legal pluralism arises where there are multiple legal traditions within one place. Professor Margaret Davies, writes that legal pluralism can lead "to a reevaluation of what we think law is and how it relates to the social, political and moral spheres of life." In what way(s) does legal pluralism in Canada challenge you to re-evaluate what you think law is in relation to the social, political and moral spheres of life?