Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français The federal government has authority over matters related to health and health care derived mainly from its criminal law power for issues related to public health and safety, and from its spending power through which it makes… Read More ›
Law, justice and rights
Executive Summary – Wrongful Convictions in Canada
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. In Canada’s criminal justice system, people are sometimes found guilty of crimes that they did not commit. These errors are known as wrongful convictions. The number of wrongful convictions in Canada is unknown. In part, this is because… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Resettling Refugees: Canada’s Humanitarian Commitments
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 1.44 million refugees are currently in need of resettlement to a third country. These are refugees who, according to the UNHCR, can neither return to… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Bilingualism in Canada’s Court System: The Role of the Federal Government
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. There are various rules governing the use of French and English within the Canadian judicial system. This Background Paper focuses on the federal government’s role in the matter, looking particularly at the issues relating to bilingualism within the Canadian court system. There are a number of different acts that govern the administration of justice in the two official… Read More ›
The Role of the Administrator as the Crown’s Representative
Reading Time: 4 minutes Disponible en français. On 21 January 2021, the Governor General, the Right Honourable Julie Payette announced her resignation. The resignation led to a relatively uncommon situation – the Chief Justice of Canada, the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, was appointed Administrator… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Canada’s Federal Privacy Laws
Reading Time: < 1 minute (Disponible en français : Résumé – Les lois fédérales du Canada sur la protection de la vie privée) The right to privacy is recognized as a quasi-constitutional right in Canada. At the federal level, two pieces of legislation provide some privacy… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Official Languages in the Federal Public Service
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Disponible en français : Résumé – Les langues officielles dans la fonction publique fédérale) The purpose of the Official Languages Act (OLA) is to ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada. Pursuant to the OLA and to… Read More ›
The Rise and Fall of Arms Control?
Reading Time: 5 minutes (Disponible en français : Contrôle des armements : après l’essor, le déclin?) In the late 1980s and early 1990s, superpower tensions began to fade. As a result, it became possible to negotiate complex agreements on conventional arms and weapons of… Read More ›
Corruption: Defining, Measuring and Addressing
Reading Time: 5 minutes (Disponible en français : La corruption : la définir, la mesurer et y faire échec) International Anti-Corruption Day occurs on 9 December annually, bringing awareness to the global issue of corruption. Because government spending related to the COVID-19 pandemic may… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Canadian Citizenship: Practice and Policy
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Disponible en français : Résumé – La citoyenneté canadienne : pratiques et politiques) Canadian citizenship can be obtained through birth on Canadian soil, by descent through birth or adoption outside of Canada to a Canadian citizen, or through naturalization (the… Read More ›