Canada's Legal System

Laws are rules made by the government that forbid certain actions and are enforced by the courts (The Government of Canada, 2015). According to the Government of Canada, "Canada's legal system is a combination of common law and civil law, which is based on the English and French system brought to Canada by explorers and colonists during the 17th and 18th centuries". The common law tradition is a law that is written down as legislation. Common law evolved into a system of rules based on precedent which is a rule that guides judges in making later decisions in similar cases (The Government of Canada, 2015). Civil law tradition is civil codes that contain a comprehensive statement. Unlike common law courts, courts in a civil law system first …show more content…
The principle means that individuals must recognize and accept that we need laws to regulate society (Justice Education Society, 2013). According to the Justice Education Society, Rule of Law "expresses the principle that all people are equal under the law and no one is above the law." The law is important in maintaining order within society. Laws exist in society to protect the members of society and ensure safety for …show more content…
John Q does not have the right health insurance to cover Michaels surgery, the hospital decides to send Michael home if the Archibald family does not come up with a deposit. Even thought Hope Memorial Hospital makes a revenue of $75,000,000 a year for doing 300 surgeries, that each cost $250,000, they decided to release Michael when they come up short with the deposit. John Q is faced with a moral dilemma to put his son to rest or fight to save his life. According to Jessica Firger, " many Americans are insured, but many still avoid seeing doctor's because of high out of pocket expenses." The family decides to sell everything they own to pay for the surgery, and even after doing so it still was not enough to pay for the surgery. The hospital decided to send a young boy home who was in need of a heart transplant because the family could not afford to pay a cash deposit. It is a moral principle to help those in need, especially since Michael is a young boy who needs the transplant to save his life. The hospital was not acting on this principle. Everyone is entitled to live and by the hospital considering to send Michael home knowing he did not have long to live they deprived him of human life. The hospital took away Michael's right to live by refusing to put him on the donor list because receiving the money was much more