business law assignment help canada

business law assignment help canada

Exploring Key Aspects of Business Law in Canada

1. Introduction to Business Law

The study of business law in Canada implicates the practical experiences and functional motivation of a broad range of attorneys, judges, auditors, accountants, investors, businessmen, and legislatures. Moreover, business law is practical in nature. However, as Godfrey points out, “Analytically speaking, the study of business law is broader and more inclusive. It simultaneously includes legal regulation affecting the world of business and those aspects of the conduct of business that are directly impacted by the legal framework. It also deals with the regulation of the market system governing the acquisition and sale of goods and services in which businesses are initiated.” Business law involves legislation, regulation, judicial doctrines, and alternative dispute settlement mechanisms that directly guide commercial doctrine and decision making. Business law is a facilitator for commercial exploitation.

Business law is a regulation that provides persistent guidelines of performance for those engaged in business. Current obligations and ethical duties arise in the course of doing business. The law of business reflects changes in social attitudes and represents public demand for acceptable morals for the basis of business associations. When researching business law in a Canadian context, the conditions that underpin business law should examine the institutions concerned in the form and implementation of commercial law at the same time they are investigating the legal mechanisms that impact on Canada’s corporate community. This, of course, applies to those engaged in studying the formation of Canadian business law.

2. Legal Framework for Businesses in Canada

While there is no uniform law industry or set of laws and regulations that govern every business the same way, there are similarities across jurisdictions in terms of the basic legal infrastructure all businesses have to adhere to. This legal framework within which businesses navigate is referred to as business law or commercial law. Business law comprises several laws and regulations that identify who can do business in a jurisdiction, the powers of existing businesses, the rightful procedures for conducting business, the consequences of a breach, and the governing of business operations within a jurisdiction to a certain extent. In this module, we shall be focused on a range of laws, regulations, and policies covering the critical aspects of a business such as its recognition and formation (i.e., incorporation), corporate governance, and operations.

Even in the modernized, globalized system, businesses operate within a sovereign jurisdiction governed by sets of laws, statutes, by-laws, regulations, published and unpublished policies, and agency practices. These laws and regulations govern everything from starting a business to operating it (including obligations to employees and third-party outsiders), mergers and acquisitions, and ultimately dissolving that business. For our purposes, a business refers to an incorporated company or organization, excluding public institutions, and laws and regulations refer to rules that are mandatory and backed by legitimate force to some degree.

3. Key Legislation Affecting Business Operations

There is, of course, a vast number of Acts of Parliament and regulations which pertain to business, setting out the scope of many trades and professions, establishing health, safety and environmental requirements, as well as designating vast amounts of procedures and requirements for reporting business transactions and financial status to governmental departments. Although there are many statutes and legislative concerns worthy of paper and time, most authorities will identify three principle aspects of the Canadian jurisprudence of business: the British origin of most aspects of Canadian business law, the influence of US federal and state law, plus some mention of the extra-British and extra-American legal shock to the commercial world caused by the development of certain types of European laws.

Restricting one’s focus to issues that directly affect business operations, there are several statutes and provisions in common law that must be examined in order to effectively place the Canadian legal regime into the broader and larger global legal framework. There are two aspects of the law that frequently must be referred to in the practical operation of business: the first of these is the legal authority by which governments set out the powers, duties and limitations on business; the second aspect involves the rights and obligations of the participants in a business: the owners, the managers, the workers, the suppliers, the customers, the local community; that is, the stakeholders in and affected by business.

4. Resolving Disputes and Legal Challenges in Business

The majority of legal cases are usually solved before they go to trial. This is because in both civil and criminal law, many stages are built at different phases of the legal process, so the parties can negotiate and arrive at a mutually satisfactory agreement.

Where a business faces a lawsuit, it is often desirable for it to bring a “cross-complaint” or countersuit versus the plaintiff. If there are more than two parties in a legal action, more than one counterclaim can be filed. The law firm of a firm or a practicing lawyer often deals with litigation. In general, litigation is a tactical approach to resolving the conflict. The approach to litigation is not only about winning a judgment at trial, but it can also involve using the struggle to force the other side to change its position. It may also be planned to discourage shareholders or third parties from reaching a settlement. The view of judges is that the trial is the forum for giving evidence and the best opportunity to tell your story.

Legal dispute resolution through the legal process is often highly complex, time-consuming, and costly. It is also very often a public event, and the risk is that the media is reporting the events of the trial.

Several institutions offer alternative dispute resolution services. Alternatively, some people elect to approach private mediators or arbitrators. It is also possible to resolve legal disputes through the formal legal process known as litigation. In this process, a plaintiff initiates a lawsuit by issuing and serving a statement of claim. The legal process involves discovery, examination, and trial. If a trial court has determined that the plaintiff’s case is an actionable claim, the case moves to trial and is decided by a judge. A judgment is awarded, and the plaintiff has to execute it as per his or her choice.

Wherever significant business activities take place, conflict and legal disputes can arise. It is often in an entrepreneur’s best interest to resolve these disputes as economically as possible. The ability to resolve problems and disputes is a key asset in business and is becoming increasingly desirable in the legal environment. Commercial lawyers often find that much of their practice involves structuring deals and relationships at the commencement of business, in ways that attempt to anticipate and prevent disputes.

5. Current Trends and Future Developments in Canadian Business Law

The regulation of pensions is in flux with the introduction of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 in response to the collapse of certain employer pension plans in the 1980s. This Act introduces the concept of certain pension plan liabilities now being a first charge on the assets of that corporation in the case of operations of an employer. Regulation of environmental law has increased, although these laws have never been totally excluded from the field of business law – for example, companies have always had to comply with rules and regulations regarding emissions, effluent and waste production and discharge. E-commerce is a common issue addressed in commercial law courses and is a growing and complex area of the field. It is not, however, likely to result in reduced demand for general commercial advice. As long as commerce is transacted, agreements will be made and enforced – the province of business law.

The most visible current trend in Canadian business and law is the activity in the market for commercial law partner-lateral transfers. In the last year, Canadian law firm websites have shown a great amount of activity concerning private mergers and acquisitions or “recruitment” among the large, national, and global business law firms. Corporations will continue to require legal advice on a wide array of legal subjects, such as human rights issues flowing from collective agreements, and disability discrimination matters, alongside traditional advice concerning business and financing agreements. They will also require advice on ethics, integrity issues, social responsibility, and corporate governance as a cost to doing business. Firms of all sizes have already commenced to reflect these trends in their recruitment practices, capturing students’ attention.