Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. Measuring Democracy examines three widely used democracy indexes: those produced by Freedom House, the Economist Intelligence Unit, and Varieties of Democracy (V‑Dem). This HillStudy explains how these indexes work, how each index evaluates the state of democracy in Canada, how they differ from each other and some possible limitations of… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms sets out the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. The Supreme Court of Canada (the Court) has consistently interpreted this right as protecting substantive equality. This means that laws – as well as government activities and policies – must not simply treat people the same. Instead, the effect… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. Conflict of interest management at the federal level has evolved significantly since the 1970s, with the introduction of a legal framework establishing a conflict of interest management regime for both houses of Parliament in 2004, the enactment of the Conflict of… Read More ›
Reading Time: 6 minutesDisponible en français. In May 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial in French for an accused who had not been informed of his right to be tried in the official language of his choice. The accused… Read More ›
Reading Time: 8 minutesNote: This publication was updated in July, 2025: Recent Evolution of Canadian Immigration Policy Disponible en français. Under Section 94 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which came into effect 28 June 2002, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration… Read More ›
Reading Time: 5 minutesDisponible en français. On 1 March 1973, the Standing Joint Committee on Regulations and other Statutory Instruments met for the first time. Its members had been appointed in January 1973, following the presentation, in 1969, of the final report of… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. Domestic police, prosecutors and courts must operate within the confines of their territorial jurisdiction, but criminal behaviour knows no borders. Consequently, states have developed legal tools to deal with cases where one or more elements of a crime – such… Read More ›
Reading Time: 3 minutesDisponible en français. In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), an important decision about the law on assisted dying. The decision found that the Criminal Code provisions that made it a crime to help a person end their life violated the Canadian Charter… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. With the majority of grains produced in Western Canada intended for export, the grain trade relies on a complex supply chain in which rail transportation is the cornerstone. Rail makes it possible to cover the vast distances… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. This document provides an overview of the various factors and players that shape Canada’s immigration policy, sheds light on the legislative framework and the roles and responsibilities of the various levels of government, and presents a few… Read More ›