AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Cyberbullying and the Non-consensual Distribution of Intimate Images

The Report is divided into two parts: the first part of the report addresses the issue of cyberbullying and includes information relating to the scope of the problem, the impact of cyberbullying on victims, existing legislative and policy responses and options for Criminal Code reform to address the issue.

The second part of the Report addresses the issue of the non-consensual distribution of intimate images and contains information about the scope of the problem, existing Criminal Code responses and options for a new Criminal Code offence. The Working Group recommends that the Criminal Code be amended to modernize certain existing offences to deal with harassment through electronic media, as well as the investigative powers for law enforcement, to ensure that all acts of cyberbullying carried out through the use of new technologies can be effectively investigated and prosecuted. 

The Working Group recommends that a new criminal offence addressing the non-consensual distribution of intimate images be created, including complementary amendments relating to, for example, the forfeiture of items used in the commission of the offence and restitution to permit the victim to be compensated for any costs associated with having the images removed from the Internet.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Department of Justice Canada’s Blueprint 2020

The Department of Justice Canada's 2020 Blueprint Progress Report for December 2016 updates Canadians and employees about initiatives being undertaken to improve employee wellbeing, increase transparency and collaboration. The primary focuses of the update are: building on personal and organizational commitments to mental health and wellness, the onboarding and retention of new employees; moving towards a Department that is Open by Default, using evidence based decision making in litigation, and promoting openness and innovation to transform legal services and service delivery to Canadians.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-12: An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (Guaranteed Income Supplement)

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-10: An Act respecting certain measures related 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
Assessment of the Initial Impact of Mandatory Alcohol Screening on Alcohol-involved Driver Fatalities in Canada – Final Report

Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) became law in Canada on December 18, 2018. This amendment to the Criminal Code allowed police to demand a breath test of any driver even in the absence of suspicion or cause.

MAS introduced a fundamental change in the approach used by police officers to enforce alcohol-impaired driving laws in Canada. Prior to the introduction of MAS, a police officer could demand that a driver provide a breath sample only if they had reasonable grounds to suspect that the driver had alcohol in their body. Although the threshold for suspicion is not high (the odour of alcohol on a driver’s breath or an admission of drinking is usually sufficient), these are not necessarily the most reliable clues. Police officers vary considerably in their ability to detect the signs and symptoms of alcohol use. Several studies have demonstrated that using typical clues to identify potential drinking drivers (such as the odour of alcohol, bloodshot and/or glassy eyes) can be challenging and can result in many drinking drivers going undetected (Compton, 1985; Wells et al., 1995).

The switch from the use of sensory and observational techniques to detect the use of alcohol to a technological approach (i.e., the use of an Approved Screening Device or ASD) to screen drivers for the presence of alcohol was intended to enhance the probability that drinking drivers would be detected and serve to reduce alcohol-related crashes. Research in other countries has demonstrated that when used as part of a comprehensive program that includes intensive and highly visible alcohol checkpoints along with public awareness, MAS serves to enhance general deterrence. It does so by increasing both the perceived and actual probability that drinking drivers will be detected, and by reducing alcohol-involved road crashes (Henstridge et al., 1997; Homel et al., 1995; Ross, 1984).

The objective of this project was to provide an indication of the initial impact of MAS by examining data on alcohol-involved driver fatalities, along with other key indicators of impaired driving before and after the introduction of MAS in Canada. It is expected that a reduction in the indicators of impaired driving would be consistent with a general deterrent impact of MAS.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Report by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada on the Implementation and Operation of former Bill C-46: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

In 2018, Parliament enacted former Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, S.C. 2018, c. 21 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) to create new and stronger laws to combat impaired driving.

The Act introduced a robust drug-impaired driving regime to coincide with the legalization of cannabis, as well as reformed the Criminal Code alcohol-impaired driving regime to create a new, modern, simplified and more coherent system to better deter, detect, and prosecute impaired drivers. The Act was introduced with an ultimate objective of reducing deaths and injuries caused by impaired drivers on Canadian roads. The Act came into force in two stages: the drug-impaired driving amendments came into force on Royal Assent on June 21, 2018 and the more comprehensive reform which was a complete repeal and replacement of the transportation regime came into force on December 18, 2018.

The Act requires the Minister of Justice to undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation and operation of the provisions enacted and table a report in both Houses of Parliament. The review must also include an evaluation of whether the implementation and operation of the Act has resulted in differential treatment of any particular group based on a prohibited ground of discrimination.

In support of the legislative changes, in 2017 the Government also announced $161 million in federal funding to support the new drug-impaired driving regime (the funding initiative). The funding initiative was targeted towards training for frontline officers to detect drug-impaired drivers, building law enforcement capacity, providing access to the newly approved drug screening equipment (ADSE), as well as policy, research, and public awareness activities around drug-impaired driving.

This report draws from multiple existing data sources, which provides national coverage of the extent of alcohol and drug-impaired driving. The report also includes findings from research projects commissioned by the Department of Justice in 2020 to support the legislative review. Data presented in this report cover both the period prior to the coming into force of the Act (2016-2018), as well as post coming into force (2019-2021). The report uses all available data, although the data does not assess every individual amendment. Therefore, the data presented in this report serve as a baseline for some aspects of the Act, as well as a preliminary assessment of other elements of the impaired driving regime introduced under the Act. To gain a broader understanding of the implementation and impact of the Act, further research and data collection would be required over a longer timeframe.

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill S-2: 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
Charter Statement - Bill C-16: An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023

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-15: 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
Indigenous People in Criminal Court in Canada: An Exploration Using the Relative Rate Index

This report presents findings on the representation and outcomes of Indigenous people as accused in Canadian criminal courts. This is the first time that national statistics on Indigenous accused in criminal courts are reported in Canada.

This study addresses four key objectives:

Identify whether the criminal court process itself contributes to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system (CJS);

Identify disproportionality in court outcomes of Indigenous accused, compared to White accused, at key stages/decision points of the criminal court process;

Identify whether other sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex and age group) affect the level of disproportionate outcomes experienced by Indigenous people at key stages/decision points of the criminal court process; and,

Identify areas that warrant further exploration and data development.

This study was a collaborative effort between the Research and Statistics Division at the Department of Justice Canada and the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada. The data used in this study were obtained through a data linkage whereby records from Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census of Population long-form (Census) and the Integrated Criminal Court Survey (ICCS) were linked together to obtain the Indigenous identity of accused. The linked data were used to generate two types of metrics: 1) proportions of Indigenous and White accused in criminal courts; and 2) the Relative Rate Index (RRI).

Organization: Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
Charter Statement - Bill C-17: An Act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and to authorize certain payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund

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 S-4: 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