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The law of servants and the servants of the law : judicial regulation of labour relations in Montreal, 1830-1845

Labour relations in Montreal during the years 1830 to 1845 were characterized by flux. The encroachment of expanding industrialization brought with it new social phenomena and pressures, new technology, and a fundamental restructuring of employment relationships. Master-servant relations still contained elements of the deeply stratified and paternalistic labour relationships ingrained in the cultural and social fabric of earlier eras, but increasingly began to exhibit the rudiments of purely contractual relationships which would come to define the modern industrial era. Courts came to play an increasingly important role in resolving labour disputes between parties. While historically the law favored the strict contractual and socio-economic interests of masters, courts began to enforce the reciprocal duties owed by masters to their servants. Servants were accorded greater access to the courts to protect their interests, with the knowledge that they had recourse to extra-judicial means of protest if the law was not sufficiently responsive.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.20304
Date January 1997
CreatorsPilarczyk, Ian C.
ContributorsVan Praach, Shauna (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Laws (Institute of Comparative Law.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001652125, proquestno: MQ50959, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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