Executive Summary – Bilingualism in Canada’s Court System: The Role of the Federal Government

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 languages, including the Constitution Act, 1867, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Official Languages Act. In addition to these constitutional and legislative obligations, there are a number of other…

Executive Summary – The Federal Lobbying System: The Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct

(Disponible en français : Résumé – Le système de lobbying à l’échelle fédérale : La Loi sur le lobbying et le Code de déontologie des lobbyistes) The preamble to the Lobbying Act states that free and open access to government is an important matter of public interest, that lobbying public office holders is a legitimate activity, that it…

Changing the Machinery of Government: Indigenous Affairs Portfolio

(Disponible en français : Restructuration de l’appareil gouvernemental : portefeuille des affaires autochtones) More than twenty years ago, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended that “the government of Canada present legislation to abolish the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and to replace it by two new departments: a Department of Aboriginal Relations…