Law Commission of Canada Responds to Government Cutbacks

As most readers know by now, the Canadian government announced $1 billion CAN in expenditure reductions earlier this week, including the abolition of the Court Challenges Program and the ending of funding for the Law Commission of Canada.

There have been a number of reactions from the legal community.

The Law Commission itself has responded:

"True to its unique multidisciplinary approach to law reform, the Law Commission of Canada has pursued its research on these topics, while maintaining its independence and transparency and consulting with experts and Canadians from all walks of life. These are the characteristics that set law reform agencies apart from other mechanisms. The ability of law reform bodies to examine both the legal and social implications of reform, to take a long-term view, to openly consult with the public and to bring politically-difficult topics into the open for debate are reasons often given for the establishment of such agencies."

"Following the federal government’s decision to eliminate funding of the Law Commission of Canada, the President summed up the situation as follows: 'Two days ago, I believed the Law Commission could, as it had done for the past nine years, contribute to these issues in a significant manner. Today, the Commission is not in a position to comment on how the work already undertaken will be pursued. The only certainty is that in a not too distant future, it will be in the interest of all Canadians to find new ways to address these important issues'."

On Saturday, the Toronto Star printed An open letter to the minister of justice signed by many prominent members of the legal community:

"Since its inception, the commission has addressed a range of difficult questions. How can the law be used to restore the dignity of those who have suffered institutional child abuse? How can law better support close adult personal relationships? What should the relationship be between public and private law enforcement?"

"How can law support participatory and restorative justice? How should age be used as a category in law? Does contemporary labour law adequately address the realities of working in the new economy?"

"What can we learn from our country's indigenous legal traditions? Does Canada's electoral system produce just outcomes? What is the status of Canada's laws beyond its borders? When is criminal law the best means to control unwanted social behaviours? When are other alternatives preferable?"

(...)

"Through its citizens' advisory council, and through innumerable forums, roundtables and consultations held across the country on a regular basis, the commission engages diverse Canadians from all walks of life in debate and discussion about their laws and legal system."

"In this way, it fulfills its mission to ensure that law is relevant to Canadians, by actively ensuring that Canadians always remain relevant to the law, and to those who make and enforce it."

"The quality of debate and proposals that emerges from this process is nothing short of outstanding. In the nine years of its existence, the Law Commission of Canada has become a model of best practices to law reform bodies operating in more than 60 countries throughout the world."

Members of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries were invited to sign the open letter to the Minister of Justice.

According to Jennifer Ditchburn, reporter for the Canadian Press news agency, the cuts, in addition to cuts to policy research arms and advisory committees at other government agencies, indicate a shift in how the Conservative minority government elected in January 2006 prefers to operate (Conservative cuts reveal new attitude toward how to shape public policy, Oct. 1, 2006, Canada.com):

"Geoff Norquay, a former Conservative staffer and Ottawa consultant, says the cuts are an example of how the Tories prefer targeted consultations on specific issues."

(...)

"But Mel Cappe, the government's top bureaucrat during some of the Chretien years, said it's a mistake to do away with the people who do the big thinking."

"He noted that the Mulroney Tories did away with policy branches in the early '90s to the ultimate detriment of government."

" 'The government decapitated itself, because it took the thinking ability of its departments and basically got rid of the policy shops,' said Cappe, now president of the Institute for Research in Public Policy."

(...)

"The Conservatives have dropped hints about their thoughts on what ails policy development."

(...)

"As one government insider pointed out, there is a strong perception within the Conservative government that many consultative bodies and committees were dominated by Liberal-friendly advisers and thinkers."

Earlier Library Boy posts on the Law Commission or the Court Challenges Program include:

• New Legal Research Report on Immigrant Settlement (July 12, 2006): "Yesterday, the Law Commission of Canada released a report entitled Unsettled: Legal and Policy Barriers for Newcomers to Canada... Few issues are as pressing for Canada today as immigration which accounts for more than half of our population growth and about three-quarters of our labour market growth. Yet today’s newcomers face significant barriers and they are not doing as well as their predecessors have done."
• New Report on Private Policing in Canada (July 28, 2006) : "The Law Commission of Canada, a federal advisory body, just released a new report entitled In Search of Security: The Future of Policing in Canada that discusses the rise of private security and police forces in Canada..."
• 7th Annual Justicia Awards for Legal Reporting (August 14, 2006) : "Société Radio-Canada’s TV show Enjeux and the Vancouver Sun's Peter McKnight are this year's recipients of the Justicia Awards for Legal Reporting.The Awards are sponsored by the Law Commission of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and the Department of Justice Canada..."
• Law Commission of Canada 2006 Annual Report (August 23, 2006) : "The Law Commission of Canada released its annual report for 2006 this week.It is short (30 pages) and provides brief summaries of the research and consultation work done in areas such as globalization and the law, international informal banking, indigenous legal traditions, the definition of 'crime', the future of policing, secured financing on reserves, the protection of vulnerable workers, age and intergenerational relationships, and immigrant settlement."
• Labour Day Resources (September 4, 2006) : "In the spirit of this annual celebration of the rights of labour, here are a few interesting labour law and labour news resources:... The Law Commission of Canada has looked at how vulnerable workers are increasingly left out by Canadian labour laws..."
• Court Challenges Program Challenged? (September 7, 2006): "Newspapers of the CanWest Global chain distributed a Janice Tibbetts article today that claims that the federal government may be considering the elimination of the Court Challenges Program as part of an overall review of government programs. The Program provides funding to help minority, women's and other disadvantaged groups so they can launch 'test court cases' challenging laws that may violate equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."