Ontario · Grade 12
Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)
- CLN4U
Ontario’s Grade 12 social studies course, from Legal Skills and Careers to International Legal Issues.
- Units
- 5
- Lessons
- 15
- Skills
- 56
- Provincial exam
- None
- Official curriculum
- Ontario Ministry of Education
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, with its official code.
Unit 1 · 4 skills
Legal Skills and Careers
Skills and Careers in Law
Skills the study of law builds
I can describe the skills the study of law helps me develop.
Official code: A2.1
Thinking like a legal reasoner
I can apply legal reasoning skills in everyday situations.
Official code: A2.2
Legal issues in the news
I can use legal thinking to analyse current events.
Official code: A2.3
Careers in law
I can identify careers where a law background is an asset.
Official code: A2.4
The official wording · 4 outcomes
- A2.1
- describe ways in which investigations related to law can help them develop skills, including the essential skills in the Ontario Skills Passport
- A2.2
- apply in everyday contexts skills and work habits developed through and relevant to the study of law
- A2.3
- use the concepts of legal thinking when analysing current events related to legal issues
- A2.4
- identify careers in which a law background might be useful
Key ideas
A law background is useful across many careers, domestic and international.
Examples include lawyer, negotiator, mediator, diplomat, and NGO staff member.
Watch out for
- Thinking law leads only to becoming a lawyer.
- Overlooking diplomacy, mediation, and NGO careers.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 11 skills
Foundations of Law
Foundational Concepts and Principles
Key legal and political concepts
I can explain key legal and political concepts used in national and international affairs.
Official code: B1.1
Non-legal influences on law
I can explain how non-legal influences shape laws and legal thinking.
Official code: B1.2
Distinctions and areas of law
I can explain the key distinctions and areas of law.
Official code: B1.3
How law affects everyday life
I can explain how different types of law affect everyday life.
Official code: B1.4
Legal Theories and Procedures
Legal theories and perspectives
I can evaluate the influence of legal theories on how laws are interpreted.
Official code: B2.1
Theories of criminal behaviour
I can explain how theories of criminal behaviour have influenced criminal law.
Official code: B2.2
Systems for adjudicating disputes
I can explain historical and contemporary systems for adjudicating disputes.
Official code: B2.3
Advocating for legal reform
I can assess the effectiveness of means used to advocate for legal reform.
Official code: B2.4
Influences on Legal Change
Issues that drive legal change
I can identify issues that drive legal change and explain their effect.
Official code: B3.1
Social attitudes and legal change
I can explain how social attitudes promote or prevent legal change over time.
Official code: B3.2
Reformers and their reasons
I can explain why individuals and groups sought legal reform and assess what they achieved.
Official code: B3.3
The official wording · 11 outcomes
- B1.1
- explain the significance of various legal and political concepts and terms used in discussions of national and international affairs
- B1.2
- explain how various non-legal influences have affected and/or continue to affect laws, legal thinking, and judgements
- B1.3
- explain the distinctions between domestic and international law, substantive and procedural law, public and civil law, and various areas of law
- B1.4
- explain how different types of law affect people’s everyday lives
- B2.1
- evaluate from a legal perspective the relative influence of various theories and perspectives
- B2.2
- explain from a legal perspective how various physiological, psychological, and sociological theories of criminal behaviour
- B2.3
- explain various historical and contemporary methods and systems for adjudicating legal questions
- B2.4
- assess the relative effectiveness of various legal or political means used by individuals and groups to advocate for legal reform
- B3.1
- identify some key issues and developments that have influenced legal change
- B3.2
- explain how evolving social attitudes, values, and circumstances have promoted or prevented changes in various areas of Canadian and international law over time
- B3.3
- explain the reasons of various individuals and groups for seeking legal reform
Key ideas
Foundational concepts include democracy, justice, equity, the rule of law, and judicial independence.
Legal theories offer competing accounts of what law is: natural law, positive law, legal realism.
Legal change is driven by technological developments, major events, disasters, and media campaigns.
International affairs add sovereignty, state, jurisdiction, federation, and parliamentary supremacy.
Feminist theory, critical race theory, and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives also shape interpretation and administration.
Watch out for
- Confusing sovereignty with jurisdiction.
- Thinking there is only one theory of law.
- Thinking only governments drive legal change.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 3 · 14 skills
Rights and Freedoms in Canada and the World
The Principles of Human Rights Law
Comparing rights charters
I can compare the Charter with other rights charters by legal force and scope.
Official code: C1.1
Charter rights and responsibilities
I can identify Charter rights and their corresponding responsibilities.
Official code: C1.2
International human rights treaties
I can explain the legal implications of signing international human rights treaties.
Official code: C1.3
The Development of Human Rights Law
Landmark rights legislation
I can analyse the positive and negative impact of landmark rights legislation.
Official code: C2.1
Progress in removing barriers
I can evaluate progress in removing barriers to equal rights.
Official code: C2.2
Addressing human rights violations
I can analyse the issues involved in addressing human rights violations.
Official code: C2.3
Strengthening rights protection
I can analyse how individuals and groups strengthened human rights protection.
Official code: C2.4
Protecting Rights: Legislature and Judiciary
Parliament, the courts, and the Charter
I can explain the roles of Parliament and the judiciary regarding the Charter.
Official code: C3.1
How people protect their rights
I can compare the ways people can act to protect their rights.
Official code: C3.2
Justifying limits on rights
I can explain when limiting rights is or is not justifiable.
Official code: C3.3
Rights protection across countries
I can compare how different countries' branches of government protect human rights.
Official code: C3.4
Contemporary Issues in Human Rights
Contemporary threats to rights
I can analyse contemporary threats to rights and freedoms.
Official code: C4.1
Workers' rights across jurisdictions
I can compare workers' rights and protections across jurisdictions.
Official code: C4.2
Rights and the environment
I can assess how well current laws protect rights against environmental harm.
Official code: C4.3
The official wording · 14 outcomes
- C1.1
- compare the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with the rights charters of other nations or international bodies in terms of their legal force and scope
- C1.2
- identify the rights and freedoms protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and their corresponding responsibilities or obligations
- C1.3
- explain the legal implications of a country’s signing of various internationally recognized treaties and conventions related to the protection of human rights
- C2.1
- analyse the impact, both positive and negative, of landmark legislation on the development of human rights law in Canada
- C2.2
- evaluate progress in removing historical and contemporary barriers to the enjoyment of equal rights by various individuals and groups
- C2.3
- analyse various issues associated with addressing human rights violations
- C2.4
- analyse the contributions of various individ- uals and groups to strengthening protection for human rights in Canada and internationally
- C3.1
- explain the role of Parliament in creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the role of the judiciary in interpreting and enforcing the Charter’s provisions
- C3.2
- compare from a legal perspective various ways in which people living in Canada can act to protect their rights
- C3.3
- explain from a legal perspective
- C3.4
- compare the roles of different branches of government
- C4.1
- analyse from a legal perspective contemporary circumstances in which individual or group rights and freedoms are threatened
- C4.2
- compare from a legal perspective the rights and protections
- C4.3
- assess the strengths and weaknesses of current laws for protecting the rights of individuals and various groups
Key ideas
Rights charters differ in legal force — whether they can be enforced by courts.
Landmark legislation has both advanced and harmed human rights in Canada.
Parliament created the Charter as part of the Constitution.
New circumstances threaten rights: loss of autonomy from globalization, loss of privacy from cybercrime.
They also differ in scope — which rights they cover and to whom they apply.
Watch out for
- Assuming all rights charters are equally enforceable.
- Assuming legislation only advanced human rights.
- Thinking Parliament interprets the Charter day to day.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 4 · 10 skills
International Law
Principles of International Law
Principles and concepts of international law
I can explain the key principles and concepts of international law.
Official code: D1.1
Challenges in making treaties
I can describe the challenges of making and implementing international treaties.
Official code: D1.2
Types of international crimes
I can identify and define the main types of international crimes.
Official code: D1.3
How International Law Developed
Agreements that shaped international law
I can identify and describe agreements and organizations that shaped international law.
Official code: D2.1
International organizations and courts
I can explain the roles and legal mandates of international organizations and courts.
Official code: D2.2
International Conflict and Cooperation
Resolving international disputes
I can identify types of international disputes and compare ways of resolving them.
Official code: D3.1
The ICJ and ICC compared
I can compare the legal mandates of the ICJ and the ICC.
Official code: D3.2
Canadian and international perspectives
I can compare Canadian and international perspectives on global issues.
Official code: D3.3
Domestic laws that violate international rights
I can analyse domestic laws that violate internationally protected human rights.
Official code: D3.4
Canada's record on alliances and treaties
I can analyse Canada's record on international alliances and treaties.
Official code: D3.5
The official wording · 10 outcomes
- D1.1
- explain the legal significance of various principles and key concepts in international law
- D1.2
- describe various challenges that face sovereign states in creating, ratifying, and implementing international treaties
- D1.3
- identify and define various types of inter- national crimes
- D2.1
- identify and describe agreements and organ- izations that have influenced the development of international law
- D2.2
- explain, using historical and contemporary examples, the roles of various international organizations and courts
- D3.1
- identify different types of international disputes
- D3.2
- compare the legal mandate in the enforcement of international law of the International Court of Justice
- D3.3
- compare Canadian and international perspectives on global issues
- D3.4
- analyse examples of domestic laws and practices that violate or have violated human rights protected under international law or conventions
- D3.5
- analyse Canada’s record of supporting or not supporting various alliances, agreements, and treaties under international law
Key ideas
International law rests on principles such as the rule of law, national sovereignty, and collective security.
International law developed through landmark agreements and organizations.
International disputes include treaty violations, boundary disputes, and conflicts over resources or trade.
Key concepts include diplomatic immunity and the distinction between customary law and treaty law.
Examples include the Treaty of Westphalia, the League of Nations, the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and the Geneva Convention.
Watch out for
- Thinking there is a world government enforcing international law.
- Thinking international law appeared all at once.
- Thinking all international disputes end in war.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 5 · 17 skills
International Legal Issues
Criminal Law Across Countries
Morality and definitions of crime
I can analyse how morality and definitions of crime differ across countries.
Official code: E1.1
Bringing an accused to trial
I can describe the steps in bringing an accused to trial in Canadian and international contexts.
Official code: E1.2
International intervention in crimes
I can assess arguments for and against international intervention in atrocities.
Official code: E1.3
Enforcing law across borders
I can compare organizations that enforce law or monitor justice across borders.
Official code: E1.4
Legal power across borders
I can describe how countries exercise legal power beyond their borders and cooperate across them.
Official code: E1.5
Sentencing across countries
I can analyse how sentencing principles relate to penalties across countries.
Official code: E1.6
Environmental Law, Domestic and International
Purposes of environmental law
I can explain the purposes of environmental protection laws and how they are framed.
Official code: E2.1
Who develops and enforces environmental law
I can describe the role of individuals and groups in environmental law.
Official code: E2.2
Protecting shared natural resources
I can analyse how well international laws protect shared natural resources.
Official code: E2.3
Opposition to environmental agreements
I can assess the validity of arguments against environmental agreements.
Official code: E2.4
Environmental protection agreements
I can describe the purpose and effects of environmental protection agreements.
Official code: E2.5
Workplace Law and Emerging Global Issues
Governments and workplace law
I can explain the role of governments in developing workplace law.
Official code: E3.1
Parties in workplace law
I can analyse the relationships between the parties in workplace law.
Official code: E3.2
Workplace safety and labour law violations
I can explain the legal issues raised by violations of workplace safety and labour laws.
Official code: E3.3
Emerging Global Issues in International Law
Technology and the administration of justice
I can analyse how technology challenges or supports the administration of justice.
Official code: E4.1
International economic organizations
I can analyse the advantages and disadvantages of joining international economic organizations.
Official code: E4.2
International agreements and rights
I can evaluate how well international agreements protect rights and freedoms.
Official code: E4.3
The official wording · 17 outcomes
- E1.1
- analyse from a legal perspective the concept of morality as well as differing definitions of certain criminal offences in the domestic law of various countries
- E1.2
- describe the key steps in the legal process of bringing an accused to trial in Canada and in international contexts
- E1.3
- assess from a legal perspective the strengths and weaknesses of arguments for and against interventions by the international community
- E1.4
- compare the activities of some organizations, both domestic and international, that enforce law
- E1.5
- describe ways in which countries exercise legal power outside their own borders
- E1.6
- analyse the relationship between the principles and purposes of sentencing
- E2.1
- explain the purposes of environmental protection laws
- E2.2
- describe from a legal perspective the role of various individuals and groups in developing and enforcing environmental protection laws
- E2.3
- analyse from a legal perspective the strengths and weaknesses of international laws to protect key natural resources held in common around the world
- E2.4
- assess the validity of reasons put forward by various stakeholders for opposing various environmental protection agreements
- E2.5
- describe the purpose and actual or potential effects of various single-country and multilat- eral/international environmental protection agreements
- E3.1
- explain the role of governments, in Canada and internationally, in developing laws relating to labour and the workplace
- E3.2
- analyse and describe the relationships between the key parties affected by laws regarding behaviour and standards in the workplace
- E3.3
- explain the legal issues raised by various violations of Canadian and/or international
- E4.1
- analyse from a legal perspective how various technological advances
- E4.2
- analyse from a legal perspective the advan- tages and/or disadvantages of participation in international economic organizations and agreements
- E4.3
- evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of international agreements in protecting various rights and freedoms
Key ideas
The concept of morality underlies what different countries treat as criminal.
Environmental laws aim to reduce or counter the negative effects of human activity on nature.
Governments develop laws governing labour and the workplace, in Canada and abroad.
Technological advances both challenge and support justice.
Offences such as culpable homicide, assisted suicide, hate crimes, and computer crimes are defined differently across nations.
Watch out for
- Assuming all countries criminalize the same acts.
- Thinking environmental laws have no guiding principles.
- Thinking workplace law is set only by employers.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
Which course?
Ontario has 4 social studies courses for Grade 12. Here they are side by side.
- Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)This courseCLN4U5 units · 56 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversLegal Skills and Careers · Foundations of Law · Rights and Freedoms in Canada and the World · International Law · International Legal Issues
- World History since the Fifteenth Century, Grade 12 (College Preparation)CHY4C5 units · 50 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversHistorical Inquiry: Skills and Careers · The World, 1450–1650 · The World, 1650–1789 · The World, 1789–1900 · The World since 1900
- World History since the Fifteenth Century, Grade 12 (University Preparation)CHY4U5 units · 58 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversHistorical Inquiry: Skills and Careers · The World, 1450–1650 · The World, 1650–1789 · The World, 1789–1900 · The World since 1900
- World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)CGW4U5 units · 43 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversGeographic Skills and Careers · Quality of Life and Access to Resources · Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship · Interactions and Interdependence: Globalization · Changing Societies: The Local and Global Community
What a university, college or program asks for is theirs to say: check its admission page, and your school’s course guide.
The official curriculum
This page follows Ontario’s own curriculum for Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation).
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Course Companion
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Questions about Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)
What is Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
Ontario’s Grade 12 social studies course: 5 units and 56 skills, from Legal Skills and Careers to International Legal Issues.
What units are in Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
1. Legal Skills and Careers, 2. Foundations of Law, 3. Rights and Freedoms in Canada and the World, 4. International Law and 5. International Legal Issues.
Is there a provincial exam for Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
No. Ontario gives no provincial exam for Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation).
Can MapleMind help with Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation), step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
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