Prepare short answers to each of the following questions. Where possible, refer to the online course materials or the assigned readings for Units 1 and 2, using proper footnoting procedures and accepted citation format for material taken directly from another source,
Assignment 1 is worth 15% of your final grade.
1. Identify the key features of the labour law regime that emerged after World War II. How does it differ from the system that preceded it? How is it the same?
2. Why is the Canadian system of labour law that emerged after World War II described by scholars as "fragmented"?
3. What are some of the major reasons why workers join trade unions? Why is the rate of unionization so low?
4. What is the Duty of Fair Representation (DFR)? How far does a union's DFR extend? Why are most DFR complaints denied by labour boards?
5. Why is labour law considered to be "contested" terrain, and therefore politically charged? Provide an example of how this is the case.
6. How does the status of unions as organizations under the law make them liable to civil action such as contempt of court, and in particular, to "criminal contempt"?
7. What has been the legal effect of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on industrial relations and labour law?
8. Why are union rights considered "collective" and what significance does this have for labour law in Canada?