AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Safety: When Domestic Violence Cases are in Multiple Legal Systems (Criminal, family, child protection) A Family Law, Domestic Violence Perspective

The purpose of this report is to document, from a family law perspective, best practice options when domestic violence cases are making their way through multiple proceedings (criminal, civil, family, and child protection). The intention is to identify practices that can promote the safety of family members, particularly children, while also ensuring fair, due process.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Making the Links in Family Violence Cases: Collaboration among the Family, Child Protection and Criminal Justice Systems

In January 2011, federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) Deputy Ministers responsible for Justice and Public Safety approved the creation of a joint family and criminal Ad Hoc Working Group on Family Violence to examine how the family, child protection, and criminal sectors of the justice system interact in relation to family violence. Representatives from all Canadian jurisdictions collaborated in the development of this report which identifies some of the challenges facing litigants grappling with family violence and simultaneously navigating different sectors of the justice system. This report also highlights selected tools, protocols, and practices that have been implemented to address these issues in Canada or elsewhere.

This report is intended for justice system professionals and those working within the criminal justice, family justice and child protection systems. This includes federal-provincial-territorial officials, Crown prosecutors, family and criminal lawyers in the private sector, children’s lawyers, members of the judiciary, court officials, child protection workers, child custody assessors, mediators, parenting coordinators, law enforcement officials, corrections officials, victim service workers and front-line service providers. The annexes to this report (Volume II) also contain a wealth of information about legal, policy, and service frameworks across Canada that have been developed to address family violence. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to these challenges given that each jurisdiction is unique and not all of the promising practices will be applicable in some remote, rural or Aboriginal communities. It is important to note that this report does not provide a thorough assessment of the specific needs and issues of Aboriginal Canadians experiencing family violence and having contact with the different sectors of the justice system. Although this report does not make specific recommendations and the promising practices do not necessarily address all the identified gaps, it is hoped that the findings will serve as a basis for future efforts to enhance collaboration on this important issue.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines: The Revised User's Guide

This Revised User’s Guide (which we sometimes call the “RUG”) updates and replaces the two previous versions: the original User’s Guide released in July 2008 with the Final Version of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG); and the New and Improved User’s Guide which we produced in March 2010. The previous versions of the User’s Guide have frequently been cited by the courts in their decisions, and by lawyers in their arguments about the Advisory Guidelines. This version provides us with an opportunity to update the past five years of SSAG case law, as well as to address some practical issues which have emerged since 2010.

The SSAG have now been in use for more than ten years, starting with the Draft Proposal in January 2005 and then the Final Version of 2008. Since the SSAGs are well-known and consistently used across the country, judges and lawyers are more often digging deeper into difficult and unexplored issues. Further, there is much more cross-fertilization amongst provinces and territories today than there was in the early days of the SSAG.

The Revised User’s Guide is not intended to provide a comprehensive survey of the case law. That would be impossible, since there are now over 230 appeal court decisions and over 2,900 trial decisions that cite the SSAG. We have focused on leading appellate and trial decisions in the Guide. We hope to provide a starting point for research, but the Guide is not a substitute for the more thorough research that needs to be done by lawyers and judges for individual cases.

Like the two previous versions, the Revised User’s Guide is intended to provide practical assistance in the application and use of the SSAG: flagging common errors, offering suggestions for more effective use, noting useful decisions and recent trends, and identifying emerging issues. More and more often, the issues raised by lawyers and judges involve the interaction between the SSAG and the broader principles of the law of spousal support. As we revised the User’s Guide, we found ourselves wrestling with some of the hardest questions in spousal support law. We hope this version of the User’s Guide will assist others to work through individual cases, whether typical or atypical.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Legal Aid in Canada 2019-20

The Legal Aid Survey was a Statistics Canada annual survey on revenues, expenditures, personnel, and caseload statistics associated with the administration and delivery of legal aid in Canada. The Legal Aid Survey was first conducted in 1983–84 and data was last published in 2016 (for fiscal year 2014–15). After the discontinuation of the Legal Aid Survey in 2016, Justice Canada began data collection and reporting in–house. This is the fourth annual edition of this report.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
2016 Canadian Victim Services Indicators: Pilot survey evaluation and recommendations

The Canadian Victim Services Indicators (CVSI) survey was developed as part of a longer term project to improve information on the provision of victim services in Canada. In an effort to identify data opportunities that could be used to measure the impact of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR) on the justice system, the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) at Statistics Canada, undertook a data mapping study to outline research needs and opportunities related to measuring how victims of crime access services through the justice system. The study identified data opportunities that could be used as potential sources for assessing how victims are served by various justice systems pre and post implementation of the CVBR. In addition, the study also highlighted data gaps and where data existed but lacked the required detail or scope. The CVSI pilot survey represents the next phase of this work, the third phase of the longer-term project to develop victim services indicators

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-23: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (COVID-19 response and other measures)

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Research in Brief: The Practice of Family Law in Canada: Results from surveys for the 2018 National Family Law Program

This report highlights some key findings of the 2018 National Family Law surveys of family law professionals in Canada. The data provide insights into the experiences, practices, and issues among legal professionals working in the Canadian family justice system.

Since 1998, the Department of Justice Canada (Justice Canada) has conducted biennial surveys of lawyers and judges working in family law in Canada. These surveys aim to collect information on the characteristics of their family law cases, and to obtain feedback on family law issues based on their knowledge and expertise. This information can assist in the development of policy and programs related to family law in Canada.

The 2018 surveys were conducted with participants of the National Family Law Program (NFLP) conference and distributed through the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) to Law Societies across Canada. The NFLP conference is a high profile biennial conference organized by the FLSC and attended by hundreds of lawyers and judges from across the country.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Fact Sheet - Income Disclosure for Child Support Purposes

Both parents have a legal obligation to support their children financially after separation or divorce. Children have a legal right to that support.

Under the Federal Child Support Guidelines parents need to provide complete and up-to-date income information to ensure a fair amount of support.

This Fact Sheet provides general information about who needs to provide income information and when they need to provide it, what income information they need to provide and what happens when the information is not provided.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Proposed changes to Canada’s Criminal Code relating to conversion therapy

On November 29, 2021, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada introduced a bill to criminalize so-called conversion therapy practices in Canada. Conversion therapy is a practice that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation to heterosexual, to change an individual’s gender identity to cisgender, or to change their gender expression to match the sex they were assigned at birth.

This bill is similar to former Bill C-6, which was adopted by the House of Commons in the previous Parliament, but with one important difference. It expands on the previous proposed legislation to protect all Canadians—regardless of their age—from the harms of conversion therapy practices and to promote the dignity and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2) persons.

These strengthened protections would reflect what the Government heard throughout the parliamentary process for former Bill C-6.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-6: An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-3: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-2: An Act to provide further support in response to COVID-19

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-4: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy)

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-5: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drug and Substances Act

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.


Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-7: An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada