CanLII Connects Content Now Searchable on CanLII

CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute that works to make Canadian legal information available for free online, now includes commentary from the CanLII Connects platform in its search results.

CanLII Connects allows publishers, law firms and academics to share commentary on Canadian cases and legislation for anyone to read free of charge.

LawBytes Podcast on Future of Free Access to Law

In his most recent LawBytes podcast, University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist looks at the the future of the free and open access to law movement which includes players such as CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute that provides free online access to legal information:

"During a recent trip to Australia, I spoke with Professor Graham Greenleaf, one of the pioneers of the movement, who co-founded AustLII, the Australasian Legal Information Institute. Following in the footsteps of the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, AustLII helped reshape legal publishing in Australia and played a pivotal role in bringing other countries’ legal materials online. The episode continues with a conversation with Xavier Beauchamp-Tremblay, the current CEO of CanLII..."

Five Questions with Marnie Bailey - Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) has been running a series of member profiles called Five Questions With...

The most recent interview is with Marnie Bailey, Knowledge Services Librarian with the firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP:

"What’s your greatest professional success?
We had an articling student a few years ago who didn’t summer with us, and for the first few weeks of training, he sat with his arms crossed, paying attention to everything but the training going on around him. After a lot of patience and coaching, by the time his articles were complete he was the biggest user of the library, and would sing our praises to everyone with whom he came in contact. His turnabout is definitely a proud moment in my career!"

Most Recent Issue of Canadian Law Library Review Available

The most recent issue of the Canadian Law Library Review is now available online on the ISSUU platform. It is also available in PDF format.

It is the quarterly journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary on Bill to Pardon Simple Cannabis Possession

The Library of Parliament frequently publishes legislative summaries for some of the federal bills of the current session. The summaries contain background and analysis of bills in front of the House of Commons and the Senate.

One recent summary is about Bill C-93: An Act to provide no-cost, expedited record suspensions for simple possession of cannabis:

"Bill C‑93, An Act to provide no‑cost, expedited record suspensions for simple possession of cannabis, was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness on 1 March 2019 and received first reading that same day."

"The introduction of this bill follows the passage of the Cannabis Act, most of whose provisions came into force on 17 October 2018. That Act legalized several cannabis‑related activities, such as the possession of 30 g or less of dried cannabis or equivalent in a public place, and the possession of four or fewer cannabis plants per dwelling house. The result is that there are individuals with criminal records for past activities that are no longer considered criminal offences."

"Bill C‑93 amends the Criminal Records Act (CRA) to allow individuals who were convicted for possession of cannabis products before 17 October 2018 to request a record suspension (formerly known as a pardon) without having to wait the usual period of time and without being required to pay a fee. The Minister of Justice published a “Charter Statement” declaring that he has examined the bill and has not identified any potential effects on the rights and freedoms protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Survey of Law Library Plans for Print Collections x

Primary Research Group, a New York-based publisher of research reports and surveys about law libraries, is surveying law libraries in the USA and Canada about their plans for their print materials collections. 

"Survey data is aggregated and respondents are not identified in open ended questions unless they identify themselves. We do encourage you to identify yourself by starting the open ended question with the name of your institution if you would like readers to know your identity."

Earlier Library Boy posts about Primary Research Group Reports include:

• Survey of Law Library Database Licensing Practices (February 14, 2016) 
• Survey of US Law School Faculty: Evaluation of the Law Library (April 21, 2016)
• Primary Research Group Report on Bundled Journals Package Contract Negotiations Benchmarks (June 19, 2016)
• Primary Research Group Report on Benchmarks for Academic Library Use of Bibliometrics & Altmetrics (July 12, 2016)
• Primary Research Group Report on Inter-Library Loan Services for Research University Faculty (February 20, 2017)
• Primary Research Group Report on Use of Law School & Other Digital Repositories (July 13, 2017)
• Primary Research Group Report on University Faculty Use of Library Assistance in Navigating Bibliometrics & Altmetrics Tools (October 19, 2017)
• Law Library Benchmarks 2018-19 (December 13, 2017)
• Report on Higher Education Inter-Library Loan Management Benchmarks (April 23, 2018)

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection from May 1-15, 2019 is now available on the Court website.

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

Statutes Compare and Regulations Compare from Thomson Reuters Wins American Association of Law Libraries New Product of the Year Award

The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) announced this week that Statutes Compare and Regulations Compare on the Westlaw Edge platform is the winner of its 2019 New Product Award.

The product allow users to see the most recent changes to a statute or federal regulation and compare any two versions.

According to AALL:

"AALL’s New Product Award honors new commercial information products that enhance or improve existing law library services or procedures—or products that improve access to legal information, the legal research process, or procedures for the technical processing of library materials."

"Eligible new products may include computer hardware and/or software; educational or bibliographic material; or other products and devices that aid or improve library workflow, research, or intellectual access. New products are considered to be those in the library-related marketplace for two years or less. Products that have been reintroduced in a new format or with substantial changes are also eligible."

Thomson Reuters will be recognized for the honor at the 112th AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Washington, D.C., in July.

Call for Proposals for 2019 Canadian Library Assessment Workshop

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries has issued a call for proposals for the 2019 Canadian Library Assessment Workshop (CLAW) to be held in Windsor, Ontario from October 22nd to 24th, 2019. The deadline is is June 14, 2019.

The event consists in a series of practical workshops providing attendees with effective methods, tools, and techniques for library assessment.

Programs and presentations from earlier  CLAW events are available on the CARL website.

Vote for the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

Members of the public can help determine the winner of the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction.

The prize, which is sponsored by ABA Journal and the University of Alabama School of Law, is "given annually to a book-length work of fiction that best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change."

It was established in 2011 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The three finalists this year are:

• The Boat People, by Sharon Bala
• Class Action, by Steven B. Frank
• The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey

The 2019 prize will be awarded at a ceremony in August at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the National Book Festival.

New International Law Research Guide on Third-Party Funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement

GlobaLex, a very good electronic collection created by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law, has published a new research guide on Third-Party Funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement:

"Third-party litigation funding is a rapidly expanding industry composed of speculative investors who finance legal claims in a number of disputes, in exchange for influence over case management and a contingency in the recovery. As third-party funding now becomes increasingly widespread in investment arbitration, it becomes critically important for policymakers, academics, IGOs/NGOs, arbitral institutions and practitioners alike to understand how third-party funding works in the investment arbitration setting and its implications, as well as ongoing reform efforts addressing the role of this funding mechanism in investor-state dispute settlement (...)"

"Investment arbitration differs from private commercial arbitration in a number of key respects relevant to understanding the implications of third-party funding. First, investment arbitration in the ISDS [investor-state dispute settlement] system involves States as respondents, rather than commercial parties. Therefore, claims and costs are paid from State budgets (i.e. taxpayers) rather than a commercial defendant’s resources or shareholders. Second, ISDS proceeds under a set of substantive rules (BITs) which create rights for investors but primarily only duties for States, meaning States can generally not raise counterclaims and cannot recover in turn (except costs in certain cases) from investor claimants. Third, ISDS takes place under procedural rules (ICSID or UNCITRAL arbitration rules are the primary ones) that allow claimants to select one of the three arbitrators, and which do not allow for appeal."

"Third-party funding in this setting has drawn particular attention because it has a more profound impact on investment policy and a host of other issues, than it necessarily raises in other settings. Third-party funding has become one element in the heated debates about “the purpose, function, and legitimacy of the laws governing foreign investment and investment arbitration.” This is so because the increasing costs, increasingly large monetary awards, and growing number of cases have become matters of recent public concern regarding the ISDS system. Third-party funding raises issues related to conflicts of interest, access to justice, disclosure and transparency, to ongoing investigation of the risk, costs and balance of ISDS procedures."

"This research guide aims to provide the tools necessary for your understanding and researching of third-party funding in the context of investor-state arbitration. A selected bibliography of scholarly writings, publications from IGOs/NGOs and institutional repositories that may inform you about the history, background and development of third-party funding in ISDS and the current debate is included in Section 8."

Statistics Canada Article on Adult and Youth Correctional Statistics

Juristat, a Statistics Canada publication, recently published an article entitled Adult and youth correctional statistics in Canada, 2017/2018.

Overall, fewer adults and youth were under supervision by correctional services in Canada in 2017/2018 compared with five years earlier. However, the number of adults in remand awaiting trial or sentencing continues to be greater than the number in sentenced custody.

New Canadian Open Access Journals List

The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), a partnership of Canadian research universities, has launched the CRKN Open Access Journals List that includes over 400 open access journals hosted at CRKN member institutions:

"With the goal of improving the discoverability of peer-reviewed Canadian open access journals, CRKN maintains a list of open access journals hosted at CRKN member institutions. Formerly managed through Simon Fraser University’s CUFTS software, this list is distributed to link resolvers to allow more researchers to see and access this content through library catalogues."

The list includes journals from many disciplines, law among them.

Statistics Canada Article on Crime in Rural and Urban Areas

Juristat, a publication of Statistics Canada, has published an article entitled Police-reported crime in rural and urban areas in the Canadian provinces, 2017.

It provides analysis of recent trends in crime rates and severity in rural and urban areas, both at the national and provincial levels.

Among the highlights:

• Police services serving a mostly rural population served 16% of the population in the provinces in 2017, but reported 23% of violent crimes, 17% of property crimes, 27% of Criminal Code traffic offences, and 23% of other Criminal Code violations.
• In 2017, the police-reported crime rate in rural areas (6,210 incidents per 100,000 population) was 23% higher than the urban crime rate (5,051 incidents per 100,000 population).
• The police-reported crime rate in Canada declined from 2009 to 2017. However, the decrease was larger in urban areas (-19%) than in rural areas (-13%).
• The higher crime rate in rural areas was driven by a small number of police services that reported very high crime rates. In fact, most police services serving a predominantly rural population recorded relatively low rates of crime.
• Higher crime rates in rural areas were mainly observed in the Prairie provinces. In the Prairie provinces in 2017, rates in rural areas were 36% to 42% higher than in urban areas.
• Higher rural crime rates were mainly observed in the northern areas of the provinces: in the South, crime rates were lower in rural areas in all provinces except Alberta.
• The higher crime rates in rural areas were mainly due to high rates of physical assault, mischief and disturbing the peace. These common violations were reported about twice as often by police services serving a mostly rural population.
• Other violent crimes overrepresented in rural areas included sexual violations against children and violent firearms offences (such as discharging or pointing a firearm). Conversely, more robberies and offences related to human trafficking or the commodification of sexual activity were reported in urban areas.
• In 2017, the rate of impaired driving was about twice as high in rural areas as it was in urban areas. The gap was even wider for incidents of impaired driving causing bodily harm or death.

Alberta Law Reform Institute Report on International Commercial Arbitration

The Alberta Law Reform Institute recently released its report on Uniform International Commercial Arbitration in which it recommends ways to bring Alberta’s international commercial arbitration law up-to-date with current international standards:

"Alberta’s current International Commercial Arbitration Act is based on uniform legislation developed in 1986. The Alberta Act has fallen behind the advances that are being made internationally and in other provinces. By updating its legislation, Alberta will catch up to those jurisdictions that have already implemented the changes. Uniformity of international commercial arbitration law is important to ensure consistency for foreign users who may be unfamiliar with Canada’s federal system of government. Uniformity will also ensure that Canada can remain competitive as a host jurisdiction for these types of arbitrations."

Library Systems Report 2019

Last week, American Libraries published the most recent version of the annual Library Systems Report by Marshall Breeding, a well-known library automation expert.The report is an annual overview of the state of the library automation marketplace:

"The library technology field continues to see modest growth overall, though that growth is unevenly distributed among companies. Large companies with expanding portfolios of products and services are giving new shape to the landscape. Despite the dominance of a few globally diverse and large companies, midsized and small companies continue to hold their own and in some cases thrive. Massive companies such as Follett, ProQuest/Ex Libris, and EBSCO represent formidable competition for any challenger in their markets. SirsiDynix and Innovative Interfaces continue to retain and attract diverse libraries to their evolving integrated library system (ILS)–centric product portfolios."

"It’s a complex industry, with different business and technology trends running simultaneously, often along divergent paths. Economic prospects are low risk, with adequate room for new business opportunities. It is an industry of established companies and few start-ups. It resists new entrants or even the advancement of local or regional companies to the global sphere. The global market for library companies must be seen in the context of client saturation. Almost all libraries that fall within the ranks of eligible customers have at least some level of automation infrastructure in place. In such a zero-sum economy, the success of one company comes at the direct expense of another."

"The cost and difficulty of changing systems lead libraries to keep existing systems unless they have strong vendor or product dissatisfaction, or they think certain technologies better align with their goals. Ex Libris and OCLC have capitalized on the latter, fueling a decade-long migration cycle of academic libraries away from legacy, print-centered ILS products to a library services platform (LSP) designed to manage complex multiformat collections."

For a quick overview of trends, the report contains charts.

New Collection on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women In Canada

The Bora Laskin Law Library at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law recently announced a new collection of documents about the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada:

"This collection was developed by the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action and has been subsequently expanded on by the Bora Laskin Law Library...

I.  Civil Society Reports
II. Government Reports
III. Secondary Resources
IV. United Nations Documents
V.  Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Documents"

New Open Access Book on Government Information in Canada

The University of Alberta Press has published a new book entitled Government Information in Canada available in a downloadable open access version:

"Public access to government information forms the foundation of a healthy liberal democracy, but because this information can be precarious, it needs stewardship. Government Information in Canada provides analysis about the state of Canadian government information publishing. Practitioners from across the country draw on decades of experience and hands-on practice to offer a broad, well-founded survey of history, procedures, and emerging issues—particularly the challenges posed by the transition of government information from print to digital access. This is an indispensable book for librarians, archivists, researchers, journalists, and everyone who uses government information and wants to know more about its publication, circulation, and retention."

The editors are Amanda Wakaruk (University of Alberta) and Sam-chin Li (University of Toronto).

They explain that the book:

• bridges a thirty-year literature gap for Canadian government information since the publication of Olga Bishop’s Canadian Official Publications,
• aims to document both the current state of government information in Canada and the “state of the discipline” of government information librarianship from a practitioner’s perspective,
• provides both an overview of what has changed in the government information ecosystem and highlights evolving strategies for continued access to these important resources.

 Table of contents:

I Historical Overviews
1 Government Publication Deposit Programs: The Canadian Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Landscapes
Graeme Campbell, Michelle Lake, and Catherine McGoveran
2 Official Publications and Select Digital Library Collections at Library and Archives Canada, 1923 to the Present
Tom J. Smyth
3 Parliamentary Information in Canada: Form and Function
Talia Chung and Maureen Martyn
4 Commissions and Tribunals
Caron Rollins

II Provincial Landscape
5 Alberta Government Publishing
Dani J. Pahulje
6 Saskatchewan Government Publications Deposit in the Legislative Library
Gregory Salmers
7 Inside Track: Challenges of Collecting, Accessing, and Preserving Ontario Government Publications
Sandra Craig and Martha Murphy
8 Digitization of Government Publications: A Review of the Ontario Digitization Initiative
Carol Perry, Brian Tobin, and Sam-chin Li

III Looking Forward: Collaborative Stewardship
9 GALLOP Portal: Making Government Publications in Legislative Libraries Findable
Peter Ellinger
10 The Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network: A Collective Response to a National Crisis
Amanda Wakaruk and Steve Marks
11 Web Harvesting and Reporting Fugitive Government Materials: Collaborative Stewardship of At-Risk Documents
Susan Paterson, Nicholas Worby, and Darlene Fichter 

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of May 2019 Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of upcoming appeals that will be heard later this month.

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.

May 2019 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 May 2019 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)

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection from April 16-30, 2019 is now available on the Court website.

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

European Union Justice Scorecard 2019

The European Union recently published its 2019 version of the EU Justice Scorecard:

"For monitoring justice reforms and their impact in Member States, since 2013, the EU Justice Scoreboard ... presents an annual overview of indicators with relevance for the independence, quality and efficiency of justice, essential parameters of an effective justice system. The 2019 edition further develops the indicators on all three elements and, for the first time, presents indicators on:

- the detailed spending of financial resources in each justice system;
- the standards applied to improve the quality of judgments in highest courts;
- the management powers over the national prosecution services, and the appointment and dismissal of national prosecutors;
- the authorities involved in disciplinary proceedings regarding judges;
- the standards and practices on managing caseloads and backlogs in courts."

The European Union at the moment has 28 member countries.

Statistics Canada Article on Hate Crimes

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat yesterday published an article entitled Police-reported hate crimes, 2017.

The article examines the nature and extent of police-reported hate crime in Canada, including motivations for hate crime (for example, race/ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation), types of offences, geographical comparisons and accused/victim characteristics. The article uses data from the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, which gathers data from police records.

May 2019 Issue of In Session - E-Newsletter of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The May 2019 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.

There is news about:

• the upcoming annual CALL conference later this month in Edmonton 
• the Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization Committee 
• the Membership Development Committee 
• the Professional Development Committee and the Webinar Sub-Committee