Legislation: Bills and Parliamentary Debates / Federal Statutes and Regulations / Provincial Statutes and Regulations
Case Law: Court System / Law Reports / Updating Cases
Secondary Sources: Digests / Periodical Indexes / Dictionaries / Words and Phrases / Legal Encyclopedias / Legal Research Guides

The Canadian legal system has many similarities to Australia's. It is a constitutional monarchy with a common law system. It is also a federation.

Significant differences include Canada having a Charter of Rights and the civil law of one province (Québec) being based on the French system, rather than the common law.

Federal Bills and parliamentary debates are available on the Canadian Parliamentary web site. The LEGISInfo section of the site contains valuable information about Bills including current status, major parliamentary speeches, voting records and "coming into force data".

The full text of Bills and parliamentary debates for the provinces and territories are available from the following sites.

Federal statutes and regulations are available from the Department of Justice, Canada site, or from Westlaw.

Westlaw provides the statutes and regulations of each of the provinces and territories.

Alternatively, CanLII has links to full text provincial statutes and regulations. The exceptions (Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island) are serviced by their respective government sites.

Canada has two hierarchical court systems, these being the federal and the provincial.

The court system of each province comprises a superior court of general jurisdiction and an appellate court, usually called the Court of Appeal. Appeals from the provincial appellate courts are heard in the Supreme Court of Canada. Each province also has 'inferior' courts which have both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Some provinces also have divisions covering family and juveniles.

The federal court system consists of a trial division and the Federal Court of Appeal. Appeals from the Federal Court of Appeals are to the Supreme Court of Canada. There is also a separate Tax Court, established in 1983.

This is the highest court in Canada. It hears appeals from the Federal Court of Appeal and the provincial courts of appeal. All decisions of the court are reported.

Canada Supreme Court Reports
Print: L/KG42/S2.
Also available on Lexis. Go to: Legal (excluding U.S.) > Canada > Case Law > Law Reports > Canada, Supreme Court Reports.

Canada Federal Court Reports
Print: L/KG42/S2.
Also available on Lexis. Go to: Legal (excluding US) > Canada > Case Law > Law Reports > Canada Federal Court Reports.

Exchequer Court Reports
Available on Lexis. Go to: Legal (excluding US) > Canada > Case Law > Law Reports > Exchequer Court Reports.
Covers matters of patent, copyright and taxation considered by the Exchequer Court of Canada. This court was replaced by the Federal Court of Canada in 1970.

These are the authorised reports for these courts.

Dominion Law Reports
Print: L/KG41/D4
Also available on Lexis. Go to: Legal (excluding US) > Canada > Case Law > Law Reports > Dominion Law Reports.
This series covers selected decisions of the federal and provincial courts.

Western Weekly Reports
Print: L/KG42/W3.
Also available on Westlaw. Go to: International/Worldwide Materials > North America > Individual Country Materials > Canada > Cases > Carswell Law Reports > Western Weekly Reports.
This series contains selected cases from the provincial courts of western Canada. It also includes appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada from these provinces.

Alberta Reports
Print: L/KG75/A2
Also available on Westlaw.

British Columbia Law Reports
Print: L/KG95/B2
Also available on Westlaw.

Manitoba Reports*
Print: L/KG115/M2

New Brunswick Reports*
Print: L/KG135/N2

Newfoundland & Prince Edward Island Reports*
Print: L/KG155/N2

Nova Scotia Reports*
Print: L/KG175/N2

Ontario Reports
Print: L/KG195/O4
Also available on Lexis.

Quebec Appeal Cases*
Print: L/KG235/Q8

Saskatchewan Reports*
Print: L/KG255/S2

* Unauthorised versions of these decisions are available on Westlaw and Lexis.

There are also a number of law reports series that cover particular areas of law (e.g. Canada Tax Cases). Print versions can be found using the Library Resources Database (the catalogue), while others are available on Westlaw and Lexis.

To update cases use Canadian Case Citations which is part of the Canadian Abridgment. The print version is held in the digest area at L/KG51/C2 and is also available on Westlaw.

When searching in Canadian case law databases on Westlaw (available via Westlaw, it is also possible to view the subsequent history of a case by using the KeyCite feature.

The Canadian Abridgment is the most comprehensive and authoritative digest service covering Canadian decisions. Cases are organized by subject using a Key number. The General Index and the Key & Research Guide volumes provide subject access to the main volumes.

The print version is available on Level 1 of the UNSW Freehills Law Library at L/KG51/C2. It is also available on Westlaw (available via Sirius).

The hard copy version includes Canadian Case Citations and Canadian Statutes Citations.

Index to Canadian Legal Periodical Literature
This publication indexes journals, case notes and book reviews. Subject, author/title, case and book review indexes are provided. It is published in quarterly cumulations, the fourth issue being the bound annual volume.
Print: LREF/K28/I1

Other online indexes that contain references to Canadian materials include Index to Legal Periodicals and LegalTrac.

Dukelow DA, The Dictionary of Canadian Law
LREF/K120/D1/2

Definitions in "words and phrases" dictionaries are the strict legal definition of a term as it appears in legislation or in judgments. The appropriate extract from the judgment or statute is given, along with a citation.

Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts & Tribunals
Print: LREF/K128/W4/1

Yogis JA, Canadian Law Dictionary
Print: LREF/ K127/Y1/1, 1A

Sanagan GD, The Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases, Legal Maxims, Canada, 1825 to 1985
Print: LREF/K127/E1/4

The Canadian encyclopedic digest provides a broad statement of Canadian federal law, as well as the law of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

It is available on Westlaw. Go to: International/Worldwide Materials > North America > Individual Country Materials > Canada > Texts & Treatises.

Listed below are books on Canadian legal research should you require further information.

Yogis JA et al, Legal Writing and Research Manual,
Print: LREF/K79/Y1/4 [Check LRD]

Castel JR & Latchman OK, The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research
Print: L/KL170/C2/2 [Check LRD]

The following web site may also be of use: