Government And Law

Local Government Law provides a unique resource with concise, easy-to-understand explanations of important legal issues faced by local public officials, community boards, and city councils. From the moment officials take office, they face decisions related to basic principles found in state and federal law. The same is true for those in the private sector aiming to work successfully with local governments. This practical guidebook will empower public and private representatives with a functional grasp of legal principles, with chapters explaining what a local government is, the requirement to follow due process, local land use controls, the basics of the Freedom of Information Act, and many other important subjects that regularly arise. As a practical guidebook on local government law, this book provides a basic and empowering understanding for officials and private actors in the local government arena.

Each chapter deals with a discrete area in the law of democratic governance, providing a detailed account of the relevant legal and policy issues and exploring the nature and likelihood of law reform. It includes original empirical research on judicial and non-judicial governor-in-council appointments, lobbying, and legislative productivity in Parliament.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1867.

Inhabited by a diverse population of First Nations peoples, Métis, Scots, Upper and Lower Canadians, and Americans, and dominated by the commercial and governmental activities of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Red River – now Winnipeg – was a challenging settlement to oversee. This illuminating account presents the story of the unique legal and governmental system that attempted to do so and the mixed success it encountered, culminating in the 1869–70 Red River Rebellion and confederation with Canada in 1870. In Law, Life, and Government at Red River, Dale Gibson provides rich, revealing glimpses into the community, and its complex relations with the Hudson’s Bay: the colony’s owner, and primary employer. Volume 1 details the history of the settlement’s establishment, development, and ambivalent relationship with the legal and undemocratic, but gradually, grudgingly, slightly, more representitive, governmental institutions forming in the area, and the legal system’s evolving engagement with the Aboriginal population. A vivid look into early settler life, Law, Life, and Government at Red River offers insights into the political, commercial, and legal circumstances that unfolded during western expansion.