Reading Time: 6 minutesDisponible en français. Following Royal Assent, a federal bill becomes an Act of Parliament and is printed as a chapter in the Statutes of Canada. However, the provisions in that Act do not produce legal effects until they have come… Read More ›
Law, justice and rights
Executive Summary – The Distribution of Legislative Powers: An Overview
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. The distribution of legislative powers among the various levels of government is a key feature of federalism. To guide this distribution, the Constitution Act, 1867 divides legislative powers between the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. These powers are… Read More ›
Mental Health Needs of Refugees in Canada
Reading Time: 6 minutesDisponible en français. As a group, refugees are at greater risk than non-refugees of developing anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although only a small proportion of refugees who settle in developed nations are known to have a mental… Read More ›
Executive Summary – The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: An Overview
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the CRPD) is an international treaty that was adopted in 2006 to help protect the rights of people with disabilities around the world. Canada and 183 other states parties have… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Strategies to Optimize Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. The deceased organ donor rate in Canada is lower than that of top-performing countries, but Canada’s rate has improved in recent years. Although the gap between the number of Canadians awaiting organ transplants and the number of… Read More ›
Executive Summary – The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDisponible en français. The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (the committee) plays a vital role in the parliamentary oversight of federal regulations. Whenever Parliament delegates legislative authority to the executive branch or other regulation-making bodies, the committee ensures that… Read More ›
The Emergencies Act: Parliament’s Role During a National Emergency
Reading Time: 5 minutesRevised on 23 February 2022, 8:40 a.m. Disponible en français. On 14 February 2022, in response to the ongoing blockades and protests taking place in Ottawa and at some border crossings, the Prime Minister announced that the Governor in Council… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Trafficking in Persons
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. Trafficking in persons is an increasingly pressing issue in global migration policy, particularly in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic that has exacerbated many contributing factors. The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as “the recruitment, transportation,… Read More ›
The Growing Importance of Open-Source Intelligence to National Security
Reading Time: 6 minutesDisponible en français. Intelligence agencies around the world, including the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), are increasingly acquiring, analyzing, using and sharing publicly available information (see Figure 1). Given the scale of data involved, artificial intelligence (AI) – particularly machine learning… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Medical Assistance in Dying: The Law in Selected Jurisdictions Outside Canada
Reading Time: 2 minutesDisponible en français. Over the last few decades, movements have arisen in several jurisdictions around the world to legalize medical assistance in dying. Until recently, only a few jurisdictions permitted medical assistance in dying, including Oregon, Washington State, Vermont, the… Read More ›