La Cour provinciale et l'art. 96 de l'A.A.N.B.

In the Province of Quebec, the Provincial Court constitutes one of the most important benches after the Court of Appeal and the Superior Court. At its beginning in 1869, the Provincial Court was termed the Magistrate's Court and its juridiction was very circumscribed. The constitutional problem arising from the existence of such a court was not obvious as it is today. In 1867, when the B.N.A. Act was drafted, the powers concerning the administration of justice in the Province, including the constitution, maintenance and organisation of provincial courts, both civil and criminal, and including procedure in civil matters, were conferred on the provinces by section 92(14). But by section 96, it was provided that the Governor General should appoint the judges of the Superior, District and County courts in each province. These provisions of the B.N.A. Act are extremely confused, so that more than 130 published cases have not succeeded in clarifying definitively the interpretation of sections 96 and 92(14), and such a situation imperils the stability of the judiciary in the Canadian provinces. For the analysis of section 96 of the B.N.A. Act, we must refer to some concepts in English Law about Superior Courts and Inferior Courts. The Magistrate's Court, now the Provincial Court in Quebec, has in fact replaced the Circuit Court whose competence was exercised by judges of the Superior Court appointed by the Federal Government. It is not obvious that in 1867 the Circuit Court was an inferior bench in the mind of the drafters of the B.N.A. Act. At that time the inferior courts in the Province of Quebec were the Commissary Courts and the Justices of the Peace. In 1869 when the Magistrate's Court was established, nobody was wandering about the constitutional question because the jurisdiction of the Court was limited to the collection of municipal and school taxes and to suits actions in which the amount was less than $ 25.00. But in 1888 and 1889 when the Provincial Legislature attempted to replace the Circuit Court in the District of Montreal with the Magistrate's Court, the Federal Government disallowed the laws because judges appointed by the Provincial Government were invested with powers which were up to that time exercised by judges appointed by virtue of section 96 of the B.N.A. Act. The Federal Government was then invited to appoint judges especially affected to the Circuit Court of Montreal, but the Magistrate's Court continued to exist in other judicial districts without extent of jurisdiction. In 1922, the Provincial Legislature tried agin to raise the powers of the Magistrate's Court by transferring to it all the functions exercised by Superior Court judges in the Circuit Court. But at this moment, the Federal Government did not intervene with it's disallowance power. So, once the delay for disallowance had expired, the Provincial Government continued to raise the competence of the Magistrate's court until the abolition of the Circuit Court in 1952. Since 1952, the powers of the Magistrate's Court have not ceased to grow. In 1965, with the adoption of the new Code of Civil Procedure, the name of Magistrate's Court was changed to become the Provincial Court. In spite of it's importance, the constitutional question is not yet settled, and whatever method we use, we cannot justify the constitutionality of the Provincial Court. Several methods have been elaborated by judges to interpret section 96 of the B.N.A. Act. The particularist method consists in appreciating if a board or a bench is invested with powers which, in 1867, were exercised by judges appointed by the Federal Government. If so, the bench is considered inconstitutional. Another method is the functionalist method by which it is presumed that the judicial function should be exercised only by judges appointed by virtue of section 96. This method is not very often used. Finally, there is the globalist method which is more comprehensive but also more abstract, which consists in the recognition of the fact by the growth of its jurisdiction the Provincial Court has become a superior, district or county Court. Whatever method is used, it is very difficult to establish the constitutionality of the Provincial Court in the Province of Quebec. This situation incites a reflexion about the opportunity of section 96 of the B.N.A. ACT which restrains the Province from adopting judicial reforms that are very necessary. If after 110 years, we are not clear about the interpretation that should be given to section 96, we shall never be. In the actual context, the arguments presented by the Fathers of the Confederation for the drafting of section 96 are not very pertinent. If we examine other federal constitutions in foreign countries, it appears that in every case the drafters of such constitutions carefully avoid the situation in which we are placed by section 96 of the B.N. A. Act. Perhaps the better solution for us is the abrogation of section 96 of the B.N.A. act

Commentaires sur les propositions concernant la vente

L'Avant-projet de loi présenté par le ministère de la Justice sur le droit de la vente a tenu compte de certaines recommandations de l'Office de révision du Code civil. La présentation des règles de droit dans l'Avant-projet diffère souvent du plan du Code civil actuel. Ainsi, certaines dispositions traditionnellement placées dans le chapitre de la vente figurent dorénavant dans le chapitre des obligations. C'est le cas de la promesse de vente et de la cession de créances. Cette présentation des idées n'est-elle pas trop morcelée ? Elle rend plus difficile une vue d'ensemble du droit applicable en matière de vente. Par ailleurs, le recours de l'acheteur concernant les charges ou limitations de l'usage de la chose achetée ont été précisées, de même que les modalités de l'exercice des recours pour vices cachés. La garantie contre l'éviction devient la garantie de propriété, et la garantie contre les défauts cachés devient la garantie de qualité. Ces changements d'appellations sont-ils vraiment judicieux ? Le chapitre comporte des dispositions spéciales régissant la vente d'immeubles construits ou à construire et les modalités de vente d'unités de condominiums.The Draft Bill presented by the Justice Department relating to the law of sale has taken into account propositions of the Office de révision du Code civil. The mode in which rules are presented in the bill is quite different from their order of appearance in the present Code. Hence, some provisions traditionally in the chapter on sale have now been included in the chapter on obligations. Such is the case for the promise of sale and the sale of debts and other incorporeal things. Is there too great a dispersal in the arrangement of these concepts ? As such, a global view of provisions on the law of sale is not readily evident. In other aspects, buyer's recourses for charges or limitations on the use of a things bought are more precisely indicated; so too are recourses for latent defects and eviction. In the Draft Bill, warranty against eviction becomes "warranty of ownership "and warranty against latent defects becomes "warranty of quality ". It is not obvious that these name changes are appropriate. The project contains special provisions governing the sale of immovables erected or to be erected and the sale of units in co-ownership

The Relationship of High School Size, Gender and First-Year Retention Rates at South Dakota State University

This study examines selected demographic characteristics of six South Dakota State University 2008 – 2013 cohorts of first-time, full-time freshmen who graduated from South Dakota public high schools. The purpose of our study is to explore the relationship between high school size, gender and student retention at South Dakota State University. Information that was both gathered and analyzed about these students includes their high school size and gender. Our examination of this data uses descriptive statistics to identify characteristics of students who were retained after their first year at SDSU. This study identifies two findings of interest: first, students graduating from high schools with populations of 200-399 students were retained at the highest level; second, gender matters for retention as females were more likely to return than males