Library of Parliament Research Publication on Criminal Charges and Parliamentarians

The Library of Parliament (LOP) has a new research publication that tackles the topic of Criminal Charges and Parliamentarians:

"In Canada, all citizens are subject to the ordinary laws of general application, both criminal and civil. There is no exemption for parliamentarians, nor is there any immunity or special rights related to their parliamentary functions, outside the narrowly defined application of parliamentary privilege."

"Whenever a member of the Senate or the House of Commons is charged with or convicted of a criminal offence, questions invariably arise as to the effect of such charges or convictions on the person's right to continue as a member of the Senate or the House.
In general, the laying of criminal charges against a member of the Senate or the House of Commons has no immediate legal implications with respect to their right to remain in office, with the exception of a procedure applicable to senators in certain situations."

"However, in the case of a conviction for a criminal offence, the legal implications with respect to the parliamentarian's right to keep their seat and their future eligibility are more serious. In all cases, both houses of Parliament retain the power to expel members, whether or not they have been convicted of a criminal offence." 

"This publication discusses measures that may be taken by the Senate and the House of Commons when criminal charges are laid against a parliamentarian, the implications of a conviction for criminal conduct, and the power to expel a parliamentarian under parliamentary privilege."

Readers can browse through the many categories of LOP research publications on the parliamentary website.

Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference August 2018

Librarians who handle inter-library loans will be interested in the Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference taking place September 13-14, 2018, at Portland State University in downtown Portland, Oregon.

The program will look at issues relating to:

• Managing your ILL statistics 
• Sustainable ILL and green practices
• Succession planning
• Keeping track of licensing of e-content for ILL 
• Training staff and students 
• Copyright and licensing
• etc.

Deadline for Proposals is March 8, 2018.

You can have a look at the content of past conferences online.

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of Upcoming February 2018 Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of appeals that will be heard from February 5 to February 16, 2018.

To find out more about any particular case, click on the docket number in parentheses next to each case name to find docket information, case summaries as well as facta from the parties.

New Govinfo US Information Portal Out of Beta

This is a follow-up to the Library Boy post of February 15, 2016 entitled U.S. Launches Beta Version of Govinfo Portal.

The U.S. government has been testing govinfo.gov, a government information portal that is intended to replace the Federal Digital System (FDsys) that contains official versions of Congressional, Presidential, judicial and federal agency materials.

A press release published yesterday explains that govinfo is now out of beta:

"We're excited to share that govinfo is now out of beta! While the predecessor site, FDsys, will remain available during this phase, we are one step closer to its retirement (planned for late 2018)."

"At this time, users and stakeholders should now begin updating links and processes to reference govinfo instead of FDsys. Learn more about the transition from FDsys to govinfo including a handy chart on finding certain FDsys resources where they've been migrated on govinfo."

New Developments in International Legal Information Resources

Today on Slaw.ca, Lyonette Louis-Jacques (University of Chicago Law School D'Angelo Law Library) posted an article on New Developments in International Legal Information Resources that looks at "some of the additions to and changes in international legal information resources in the past couple of years."

It covers new encyclopedias, materials added to HeinOnline, new reports from the Law Library of Congress, and much more more.

Louis-Jacques is the co-founder of the INT-LAW listserv e-forum for discussion and sharing of information concerning foreign, comparative, and international legal (FCIL) resources.

Forthcoming Article on Access to the US Supreme Justices’ Papers

Susan David deMaine from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law has published an article on the SSRN website entitled Access to the Justices' Papers: A Better Balance that will appear in a forthcoming issue of Law Library Journal.

It analyzes how US Supreme Court Justices' private papers about their work on the court are handled after they retire:

"With the exception of official court records, the papers generated by the Supreme Court justices in their work for the Court are and have always been considered private property. As a result, the justices’ treatment of these documents is idiosyncratic, ranging from outright destruction to lengthy restrictions to quick release. Adding the perspective of archivists and librarians, this paper explores the history of the justices’ papers and questions of access, the public’s interest in understanding the Court and its decisions, and the effect of the justices’ papers on scholarship and popular research. Several options for encouraging greater openness are proposed."

It is easy to register for free to SSRN to be able to download materials. It is also possible to open a PDF version of the article in a browser.

Slaw.ca Article on Access Copyright v. York University Fight

In 2017, York University lost a case in Federal Court of Canada in its legal dispute with the collective licensing agency Access Copyright.

Access Copyright had sued the school, alleging it had been improperly reproducing and authorizing the copying of protected works.

The University is appealing the decision.

Legal scholar John Willinsky posted an article on Slaw.ca over the weekend entitled Access Copyright v. York University, and the Friends of Intellectual Property.

In his article, Willinsky refers to a study he co-authored in 2013 that looked at course packs at Queen’s and Stanford University. The results are very interesting:

"... students were found to be paying unnecessarily for 45 percent of the items in the course-packs across the two universities. The overpayment differed by discipline, with the five course-packs in law having 73 percent of its items available to students without cost, while only 33 percent of the items in the 58 humanities course-packs were otherwise freely available to the students. The study suggests one basis for challenging the tariff rates, but I also think that the universities could do more at the same time to show themselves friendlier to intellectual property."

"... if faculty had students go through the library to find some of their readings, and turn to the web for readings that are publicly available, they would be doing far more to educate them about the prospects of a lifelong engagement with research and scholarship. This awareness and use seem like a good (and IP-friendly) thing for securing public support of universities and publishers into the future. At the same time, students can learn how these works 'live' within the critical context of journals, books, societies, and other organizations. The intellectual aspects of these properties are only enhanced by seeing them set amid related content, citations, and social media take-up. The students will also have a chance to learn about how their information rights to publicly supported research and scholarship are slowly increasing, while at the same time gaining much needed skills in at least one approach to finding credible information sources in a post-truth internet."

 Reaction to the 2017 Federal Court decision includes:

• Court Decision a Big Win for Creators and Publishers (Access Copyright, July 12, 2017)
• Ignoring the Supreme Court: Federal Court Judge Hands Access Copyright Fair Dealing Victory (blog post by Michael Geist, University of Ottawa, July 13, 2017)
•  Access Copyright v York University (Fair Dealing in Education blog, July 13, 2017)
• Access Copyright v. York U – And All Eyes Over to York U for What's Next (Excess Copyright blog, July 14, 2017)
• The Federal Court of Canada Puts the “Fair” in the Copyright Act’s “Fair Dealing” Exceptions (McInnes Cooper analysis on CanLII Connects, July 18, 2017)
• Court Ruling on York's Copyright Infringements a  Win for Canadian Creators (Macdonald-Laurier Institute, July 18, 2017)
• Students Deeply Concerned With Federal Court Ruling Against York University (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, July 18, 2017)
• Access Copyright v York University (Ontario Library Association analysis, July 19, 2017)
• The York University Case: Crisis in Copyright Law (BoyneClarke LLP blog, July 21, 2017)

Statistics Canada Article on Family Violence in Canada

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat published an article last week on Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2016:

"Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile is an annual report produced by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics under the Federal Family Violence Initiative. Since 1998, this report has provided current data on the nature and extent of family violence in Canada, as well as analysis of trends over time. The information presented here is used extensively to monitor changes that inform policy makers and the public (...)"

"The 2016 edition of the report features an in-depth analysis of self-reported stalking in Canada, using data from the 2014 General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety (Victimization). This featured section examines the nature and prevalence of self-reported stalking, including how stalking behaviour has changed over time. A particular focus on intimate partner stalking is also presented, including an overview of how stalking that occurs in the context of these relationships differs from other kinds of stalking in important ways."

Alberta Law Reform Institute Report on Inter-provincial Recognition of Substitute Decision-Making Documents

In December 2017, the Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) released a report for discussion on Inter-provincial Recognition of Substitute Decision-Making Documents.

Substitute decision-making documents (also called powers of attorney, proxies, personal directives, etc...) delegate authority to one person to act on behalf of another with respect to financial, property or legal affairs and/or personal or health care matters. But legal requirements can often differ in different jurisdictions so that documents may not be recognized outside the province in which it was made, a situation that can create problems for people who own assets in more than one jurisdiction.

In 2016, the Uniform Law Conference of Canada approved the Uniform Interjurisdictional Recognition of Substitute Decision-Making Documents Act. The Uniform Act is intended to provide harmonized rules that may be implemented across Canada.

The ALRI report reviews the Uniform Act and considers whether it is suitable for implementation in Alberta. ALRI proposes that the Uniform Act should be implemented in Alberta, with some minor adjustments.

Registration Open for 2018 Halifax Conference of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

Registration is now open for the 2018 annual conference of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries.

The event is taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 27th – 30th.

A preliminary Conference program is available on the Conference website. An enhanced version of the Conference program complete with more info will be available at the end of the month.

Blog Series for 10th Anniversary of Supreme Court Dunsmuir v New Brunswick Decision

Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9 has become the most cited Canadian court decision ever.

It will soon the 10th anniversary of what many scholars believe is the decision that rewrote Canadian administrative law.

To mark the occasion, the blogs Double Aspect and Administrative Law Matters will be publishing a series of posts by major scholars between now and the anniversary date (March 7):

"These contributions will subsequently be published in the Canadian Journal of Administrative Law & Practice, the overall goal being to enrich discussion of Canadian administrative law and to blend new and old forms of legal writing. Contributors will be encouraged to edit their contributions in light of comments received from blog readers and other discussants on social media ― so don’t be shy!"

 Posts will cover:

• The Background to Dunsmuir 
• The Philosophy of Dunsmuir 
• Correctness Review 
• Reasonableness Review 
• Dunsmuir and Fairness 
• Dunsmuir and the Constitution 
• Indigenous Peoples and Dunsmuir 
• Teaching Dunsmuir 
• Judicial Perspectives 
• Comparative Perspectives 
• The Effects of Dunsmuir

Report on Mental and Physical Health Costs of Everyday Legal Problems

The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice recently produced a report on The Cost of Experiencing Everyday Legal Problems:

"This summary report explores the relationship between health issues, civil and family justice problems in Canada and public spending on health care. Using findings from the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice’s (CFCJ) national Everyday Legal Problems and the Cost of Justice in Canada study this report will look at different civil justice problem types, identify trigger problems and explore an often overlooked factor that impacts physical and mental health and public spending on health care in Canada: civil and family justice problems."

The CFCJ is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to access to justice research and advocacy. It was established by the Canadian Bar Association and is affiliated with Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection from January 1 to 15, 2018 is now available on the Court website.

It is possible to subscribe via e-mail to receive the list.

Canadian Association of Law Libraries Webinar on Aboriginal and Indigenous Law

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is hosting a webinar on February 8, 2018 called Intersections with Aboriginal and Indigenous Law .

It starts at 1PM Eastern time.

The speaker will be Naiomi W. Metallic, Assistant Professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University:

"[The presentation] will examine the numerous areas of Canadian law wherein the Indigeneity of one or more of the parties involved in a dispute will impact either the procedural or substantive outcome in law. Participants will learn how areas such as Torts, Property, Family Law, Public Law, Commercial Law, Administrative Law, etc. intersect with Aboriginal or Indigenous Law. These concepts will be defined, and participants will learn that these areas are confined to Aboriginal and Treaty Rights."

New Law Librarians' Institute 2018

The Canadian Association of law Libraries is sponsoring the 2018 New Law Librarians' Institute (NLLI) at the University of Calgary from June 19 - 22, 2018.

It is:

"an intensive, week-long program aimed at developing librarians' skills in the key competencies of law librarianship. The program will feature expert instruction from law librarians and law professors, small class size and a mix of lectures and practical sessions. Learn more about torts, contracts, criminal and constitutional law and supporting legal research. "

More information will be posted soon.

Survey of Plans for Law Library Print Materials Collection

New York-based Primary Research Group is surveying law libraries in the United States and Canada about their plans for their print materials collection:

"Survey participants receive a free PDF copy of the report generated from the survey data. The survey is open to law libraries in the United States and Canada. Survey data is aggregated and respondents are not identified in open ended questions unless they identify themselves."

Most Recent Issue of LawNow: Children in the Justice System

The most recent issue of LawNow is available online.

The magazine is published by the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta.

The issue features a series of articles on children in the justice system as well as a special report on tax reform.. 

January 2018 Issue of Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World

The Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World newsletter, published by Library and Archives Canada (LAC), highlights issues pertaining to government and recordkeeping practices in the public and private sectors around the world.

The January 2018 issue has just been published.

It includes:

• news items from Canada and around the world 
• announcements of upcoming Canadian and international events (meetings, conferences, seminars) 
• project and product news in areas such as digitization, archives, open source, e-government, access to information and Web 2.0 
• listings of papers and readings (white papers, presentations, reports)

Library and IM-Related Highlights from the 2016-17 Departmental Results Reports

The website Librarianship.ca has published Highlights from the 2016-17 Departmental Results Reports.

Every year, the Treasury Board tables performance reports in the House of Commons on behalf of dozens of federal government agencies and departments.

"Departmental Results Reports replace the former Departmental Performance Reports, which are part of the Estimates and Supply process. They provide details on an organization’s mandate, commitments and results achieved."

"Below are some highlights of interest to the Canadian library and information management community as identified by individual departments and agencies."

January 2018 Issue of In Session - E-Newsletter of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The January 2018 issue of In Session is available online.

 It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events.

Part Three of LLRX Series on State of Law Library eBooks 2017-18

Ellyssa Kroski, Director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute (NYLI), has written a three-part series about e-books for the website LLRX.com.

The third and last article appeared on December 31, 2017:

"This article will discuss our hybrid model at NYLI and how we’re utilizing aggregators and individual publisher platforms as well as subscription models and patron-driven acquisitions to create the largest and most comprehensive eBook collection of any membership law library in the US."

Parts One and Two of the series appeared earlier in the fall of 2017.

January/February 2018 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The January/February 2018 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available online.

It is the monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries.

Among the feature articles are:

• Securing Professional Development: Getting to Yes
• The Journey Starts Here: Finding Your Path to Career Fulfillment
• Eight Ways Law Librarians Can Jump-Start Productivity
• Job Interview Goals: Perspectives From Both Sides of the Table

Law Library of Congress Report on Mandatory Deposit Laws

The Law Library of Congress has published a 2017 update to its report on Mandatory Deposit Laws in Selected Jurisdictions:

"This report contains data on 131 countries, indicating whether or not published books are subject to a mandatory deposit requirement at the national level and, if so, how many copies are required, where they must be deposited, and whether the deposit is part of the copyright system. Citations to the controlling legislation for mandatory deposits are provided. In all but thirteen of the jurisdictions surveyed, deposits are required. For some of these thirteen jurisdictions, deposits are voluntary, while in others, no information regarding deposit practices could be found. Asterisks in the copyright system column indicate that the deposit requirement is contained in the copyright law."

Winners of 2017 Canadian Law Blog Awards

The winners of the 2017 Canadian Law Blog Awards (known as the Clawbies) were announced a few days ago.

The prize for Best Canadian Law Blog went to Cowling Legal, which the organizers describe as a blog that "combines sharp insights into the Canadian litigation landscape and timely commentary on vital social issues with terrific writing and a unique personal style".

The Best Law Library Blog award went to Legal Sourcery maintained by the Law Society of Saskatchewan.

There were awards in many other categories.

The Clawbies are organized by Stem Legal, a B.C.-based strategy firm.

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of Upcoming January 2018 Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of appeals that will be heard from January 8 to January 19, 2018.

To find out more about any particular case, click on the docket number in parentheses next to each case name to find docket information, case summaries as well as facta from the parties.

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection from December 16 to 31, 2017 is now available on the Court website.

It is possible to subscribe via e-mail to receive the list.