Ultimately this course offers an introduction aimed at fist year law students to the principles governing contractual relationships in Canada. In upper year courses, student will have an opportunity to further study the application of these general principles in the specific statutory and economic contexts that apply in a diverse range of settings. A range of upper year courses deal in a different way with contracts that are used in real estate transactions, e-commerce transactions, sale of goods, formation of businesses, sales of securities, lending relationships, employment relationships, and domestic relationships. It is useful to start the study of contract law with a focus on general principles that have some relevance to all contracts, but to always be aware that this is an introduction to a very broad and complex study that may consume the rest of your professional life. The focus of the Contract course is on the laws that govern private agreements.
Agreements have a broader relevance in a range of public contexts.
In Canada, negotiations and agreements between different levels of government, are a prominent aspect of constitutional law and politics, especially in recent years. The treaties between the Crown and aboriginal nations are also an important and not uncontentious type of agreement. Treaties between countries are the basis of international law, and increasingly relevant for international commerce. An understanding of some of the issues and tensions that arise with private contracts is important for understanding these public agreements. While we will occasionally discuss issues related to public agreements, the focus is on private contracts.