Legal research for the non-legal librarian

Wendy Reynolds,

Ontario Securities Commission

You are better off not knowing how sausages

and laws are made.

-- Anonymous

Agenda

• Overview of Ontario’s legal system

• Documents/information produced by each branch– Laws (Acts)– Regulations– Orders and Decisions

• Questions

Ontario’s legal system

• “Law” derives from three sources:– Legislative (Queen’s Park)– Executive (“The government”)– Judicial (The Courts)

• Each branch produces documents unique to itself – the key to good legal research is knowing the differences.

LegislationOntario Legislature considers possible laws through a five-step legislative process:

First reading

Second reading

Committee review

Third reading

Royal Assent

If a bill passes through every step, it becomes a Statute of Ontario, and is LAW.

Federal bills

C-19 An Act to amend the Competition Act

C-241 An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction for volunteer emergency service)

S-17 An Act to implement an agreement, conventions and protocols concluded between Canada and Gabon, Ireland, Armenia, Oman and Azerbaijan for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion

But is it in force?

• Once signed, bills are part of the Statutes of Ontario BUT may not yet be in force. Why?

• To allow the preparation of regulations• To allow people affected by the Act to get ready• To wait for a favourable political environment

Commencement2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

-- MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004 . 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 2

Commencement      11.  This Act comes into force on March 1, 2005.

-- Employment Standards Amendment Act (Hours of Work and Other Matters), 2004. 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 21.

Commencement35.  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the

day it receives Royal Assent.Same

(2)  Subsections 20 (1), (2), (3) and (4) shall be deemed to have come into force on May 19, 2004.

-- The Budget Measures Act, 2004. 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 7

Commencement51.  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on

the day it receives Royal Assent.Same

(2)  Sections 1 to 50 come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

--Public Accounting Act, 2004. 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 8

The legislative paper trail

• Bills – proposed statutes. Not binding on the population until passed.

• Debates – what the legislature said about bills and other issues of the day. (aka Hansard)

• House business – results of votes and proceedings, committee reports and other documents created in the course of everyday life.

Important information

• Parliament/Legislature– the time between elections.

• Session – the time between Throne Speeches.

Where to find it

• www.ontla.on.ca – the Legislature’s web site. Goes back to September 26, 1995.

• For material predating September 26, 1995, you must consult paper sources– Hansard –minutes of the debates of the Legislature.– Bills.– Reports, proceedings, and other publications.

• Depository libraries are an excellent source of documents.

Amending statutes

• Society changes, so must the law.

• Amending statutes allow legislatures to change aspects of an existing act without losing the basic structure.

• To understand how an act reads today, we must consider the entire history of the act, including all of its amendments.

Statutes of Ontario

• Where you look for “the law”.• Available at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca (current

to within 10 days).• Also available in paper – Statutes of Ontario

(you must construct your own consolidation). • Commercially-published consolidations and

annotations may also be available for high-use acts (e.g. Ontario Securities Act, Ontario Business Corporations Act, Income Tax Act).

Explanatory Note

CHAPTER 2An Act to amend the

Legislative Assembly Actto freeze the salaries of membersof the Assembly until the end of

fiscal year 2004-2005

Assented to April 15, 2004

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:1.  The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by adding the following section:Salary freeze until end of fiscal year 2004-200561.1  Despite anything else in this Act and despite anything done under this Act,(a)   the annual salary of a member, until April 1, 2005, shall remain the same as it was on October 2, 2003; and(b)   there shall be no increase in the annual salary of a member with respect to the period that began on October 2, 2003 and ends on March 31, 2005.Commencement2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.Short title3.  The short title of this Act is the MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004.Back to top Français

Explanatory Note

CHAPTER 2An Act to amend the

Legislative Assembly Actto freeze the salaries of membersof the Assembly until the end of

fiscal year 2004-2005

Assented to April 15, 2004

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:1.  The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by adding the following section:Salary freeze until end of fiscal year 2004-200561.1  Despite anything else in this Act and despite anything done under this Act,(a)   the annual salary of a member, until April 1, 2005, shall remain the same as it was on October 2, 2003; and(b)   there shall be no increase in the annual salary of a member with respect to the period that began on October 2, 2003 and ends on March 31, 2005.Commencement2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.Short title3.  The short title of this Act is the MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004.Back to top Français

Explanatory Note

CHAPTER 2An Act to amend the

Legislative Assembly Actto freeze the salaries of membersof the Assembly until the end of

fiscal year 2004-2005

Assented to April 15, 2004

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:1.  The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by adding the following section:Salary freeze until end of fiscal year 2004-200561.1  Despite anything else in this Act and despite anything done under this Act,(a)   the annual salary of a member, until April 1, 2005, shall remain the same as it was on October 2, 2003; and(b)   there shall be no increase in the annual salary of a member with respect to the period that began on October 2, 2003 and ends on March 31, 2005.Commencement2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.Short title3.  The short title of this Act is the MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004.Back to top Français

Interpretation, other general mattersDefinitions      1.  (1)  In this Act,“associate”, where used to indicate a relationship with any person or company, means,         (a)    any company of which such person or company beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, voting securities carrying more than 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all voting securities of the company for the time being outstanding,         (b)    any partner of that person or company,         (c)    any trust or estate in which such person or company has a substantial beneficial interest or as to which such person or company serves as trustee or in a similar capacity,         (d)    any relative of that person who resides in the same home as that person,         (e)    any person who resides in the same home as that person and to whom that person is married, or any person of the opposite sex or the same sex who resides in the same home as that person and with whom that person is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage, or          (f)    any relative of a person mentioned in clause (e) who has the same home as that person; (“personne qui a un lien”)

Questions?

Regulations

• How government operates on a daily basis.

• Flows from the ministries, departments and agencies – not subject to a vote.

• “Delegated legislation”.

Finding regulations

• Consult E-laws (www.e-laws.gov.on.ca) for the most recent version of a regulation.

• Published in Ontario Gazette. Available as a paper subscription, or on the web at www.ontariogazette.gov.on.ca

• Regulations may also be amended, so it is necessary to consolidate regulations as well.

Federal regulations

• Published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Available in paper, and on the web at http://canadagazette.gc.ca/

• The Canada Gazette is published in three parts – Part I contains public notices, proposed regulations and announcements of appointments. Part II contains final versions of regulations, and Part III contains new statutes which have recently received Royal Assent.

• Web version of the Canada Gazette dates back to 1998.

Questions?

I’ll see you in court!

Supreme Court of Canada

Federal Court of Appeal

Ontario Court of Appeal

Divisional courtSuperior Court

of Justice

Provincial boards & Tribunals

Ontario Court of Justice

Tax Court Federal Court

of Canada

Federal boards& tribunals

Taking a reasoned approach

• Reasons for decision – the lifeblood of court-made law.

• Appeals.

• Reported vs unreported decisions.

• Noting up cases.

On the (paper) trail of court decisions

• Orders and reasons issued by courts.

• Significant decisions published by commercial vendors.

• Online.

• Noting up.

Citation

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703

Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

Citation

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703

Style of cause

Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

Citation

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703

Citation

Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

CitationGranovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703

Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

CitationGranovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703

Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28

Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

What are other people saying?

• Legal and general newspapers

• Journals and reviews

• Law firm websites and blogs

Key questions

• What type of document are you looking for – statute, regulation, or decision?

• What jurisdiction are you looking for? (Federal, provincial, other?)

• Dates – is the client looking for the most recent version of a statute/reg, or are they looking for something older?

• If the client is looking for a court decision, determine the level of the court, date of decision and judge if possible. If the client has a citation to a specific decision, this information is less important.

Protecting yourself

• Don’t offer legal advice.• Assist the client in finding documents. Don’t

interpret them. Suggest that the client retain legal counsel if they don’t know what to do to resolve the issue.

• To find a lawyer, go to www.canadianlawlist.com or the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Lawyer Referral Service (http://www.lsuc.on.ca/public/referral_en.jsp)

AAACK!

• Public Information Office (Parliament of Canada) 613-992-4793

• Queen’s Park Clerk’s office 416-325-7370 (status of bills, parliamentary procedure)

• TALL listserv (T-LAWLIB-L@listserv.utoronto.ca)

• CALL-L (send your questions to the list owner, Melinda Renner, at renner@unb.ca)

• Virtual Reference Canada http://www.collectionscanada.ca/vrc-rvc/index-e.html

Inspired?

Finding and Using Legal Resources on the Web

Instructor: Eric Leduc, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

See the OLA Education Institute calendar for details.http://www.thepartnership.ca

6 weeks online @ your desktop, starting July 4, 2005