Indigenous Bar Association Supplement to the Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples

The Advocates’ Society, the Indigenous Bar Association and the Law Society of Ontario have published a First Supplement to the Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples. 

The document is intended to help the legal profession understand issues in Canada’s justice sector, including trauma-informed lawyering, land  acknowledgements, and the impact of new domestic and international legal developments.

The original Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples was published in 2018.

Its purpose was to help lawyers and others in the justice system learn about Indigenous cultures, understand the interplay between Indigenous legal orders and the Canadian legal system, and develop practical skills to effectively represent Indigenous clients. 

The Supplement includes chapters on the following topics:

• land acknowledgments
• developing a trauma-informed approach to legal practice
• the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• Canada's passage of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and Indigenous child welfare legislation
• recent developments in treaty litigation and interpretation
• evolving duties to consult and accommodate Indigenous peoples
• the ongoing development of Gladue principles and their application in novel legal contexts

Recent Justice Canada Research Documents

The Government of Canada Publications Weekly Acquisitions List can be a great way to discover new research reports published by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government.

Here are three Justice Canada publications from the most recent list:

• Shifting the paradigm : exploring opportunities for community justice help : a review of access to justice literature and activity: "This report provides a review of recent developments in regulatory action and program activity aimed at improving access to justice through assistance provided by nonlawyers in community-based not-for-profit settings. We call this type of assistance “community justice help”. The purpose of this report is to explore and identify the potential for supporting and expanding the roles for community justice help in Canada. The primary focus of our review is Canada, but recent developments in comparative jurisdictions are also considered. The report identifies some relevant regulatory action with potential to expand the scope for non-lawyer roles in general and community justice help more particularly. It also identifies a significant level of program activity in the realm of community justice help."
• Section 19 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act : a look at the use of conferences across Canada: "The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) came into force on April 1, 2003 to assist in reducing the notably high Canadian youth custody rate. The YCJA promotes youth rehabilitation and reintegration into society through diversion from the formal justice system and greater community involvement in responding to youth crime. It also promotes responsibility and accountability through measures that are proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the youth’s stage of development. In support of these goals, section 19 of the YCJA introduced conferences as a means to assist both decision makers and youth involved in the criminal justice system (CJS). Section 19 conferences provide an opportunity for various professionals and stakeholders, including the young person concerned and their family, to come together to discuss the matter in a more informal setting in order to formulate recommendations about the young person’s case. Despite the introduction of section 19 conferences almost 20 years ago, there has been little information gathered on the extent of their use, how they are being conducted, and the associated outcomes. In 2020, the Department of Justice Canada undertook a national survey to fill this knowledge gap (...) . Many aspects of section 19 conferences were examined, including: Extent of use of conferences; Purposes and processes of conferences; Benefits of conferences; Challenges of conferences; and Data collection, evaluations and impact assessments." 
• Panel Discussion Report: Indigenous and Restorative Justice Approaches: "Justice Canada, in collaboration with the Indigenous and Restorative Justice subcommittee of the Federal Provincial Territorial (FPT) Restorative Justice Working Group (RJWG), hosted a virtual panel discussion on February 15, 2022. This event was designed to support future discussions at the National Restorative Collaborative Learning Conference (NRCL Conference) to occur in October 2022. A theme of the conference will include the potential for justice transformation to address systemic racism, the legacies of colonialism and to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples through an increased use of restorative justice (RJ)."

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of Upcoming Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of upcoming appeals that will be heard in October 2022.

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 factums from the parties.

Law Commission of Ontario Consultation Paper on Environmental Accountability

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) has published a consultation paper on environmental accountability.

"The EBR [Environmental Bill of Rights 1993] was enacted over 25 years ago. Since then, the environmental, policy, and legal landscape in Ontario has changed considerably. New issues have emerged, including important developments in the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples; the growing recognition of environmental justice; and the adoption of the right to a healthy environment by most member states of the United Nations. These new developments underscore the need to re-examine the substantive and procedural requirements of the EBR to ensure it reflects and is responsive to current realities (...) an underlying premise of the EBR is that the public and the government share responsibility for protecting the environment. The EBR sought to achieve its objectives by enhancing public participation rights in government decision making process on environmental matters. It was anticipated that this would improve accountability and transparency leading to better environmental outcomes (...)"

"The Consultation Paper asks two sets of questions. First, the paper asks about potential reforms to the EBR. Second, the paper asks potentially more far-reaching and challenging questions about emerging legal concepts of “environmental justice,” the “right to a healthy environment,” and how to account for Indigenous issues and legal orders in Ontario’s environmental accountability framework (...)"

"Finally, readers will know that environmental accountability is a complex, controversial, and politicized subject. The LCO is committed to bringing its rigorous, evidence-based and non-partisan approach to this project. The LCO’s goal is to move beyond the rhetoric and ask hard but fair questions about Ontario’s experience; the desirability, feasibility, and enforceability of reasonable law reform options; and how environmental accountability measures might be balanced against competing rights and economic interests."

The Commission will consult widely with stakeholders, including lawyers and legal organizations, environmental NGOs, industry representatives, academics, Indigenous communities, government and justice system leaders, and individual Ontarians interested in environmental issues. The consultation period ends in late November 2022.

Victorian Law Reform Commission Final Report on Stalking

This week, the Victorian Law Reform Commission tabled its final report on responses to stalking to the state parliament.

The state of Victoria is in south-eastern Australia and its capital is Melbourne.

The report contains recommendations to improve the ways that the justice system treats people who have experienced stalking in a non-family violence context. 

It says that victims should have easier access to financial and practical support, such as technology to prevent cyberstalking. Victims should be supported by independent advocates to guide them through every stage, from reporting the stalking activity to accessing support services and any court actions.

Another recommendation calls for the Crimes Act to be amended to make the stalking offence clearer and easier to apply.

Related posts that deal with stalking include:

• Handbook for Police and Crown Prosecutors on Criminal Harassment (May 21, 2013): "The Handbook was developed by a working group of federal/provincial/territorial criminal justice officials in consultation with criminal justice professionals. It was  first published in 1999 and updated in 2004. The development of these  guidelines was prompted by the findings and recommendations of the 1996 Department of Justice Canada review of the criminal harassment provisions in the Criminal Code. The updates have been published in response to positive feedback regarding the usefulness of the Handbook and requests for more current information."
• Law Reform Commission of Ireland Report on Domestic Violence Law (December 5, 2013): "The second issue discussed in the Report is whether the offence of harassment in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 addresses sufficiently the problem of stalking in domestic violence cases. The Report notes that most prosecutions for harassment involve domestic cases, and usually involves stalking by former spouses and partners. The current law requires that the harassment must involve “following, watching, pestering, besetting or communicating” and must be done “persistently.” The Commission’s Report points out that the requirement of “persistence” means that a person can be convicted of harassment where stalking involves a single long episode of continuous following or pestering. By contrast, under English law the harassment or stalking must involve at least two separate types of conduct. The Report concludes that the current requirements in the 1997 Act impose appropriate legal thresholds and standards that should be met in order to convict a person of stalking."
• Irish Law Reform Commission Report on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety (October 1, 2016): "The Report also recommends reforms of the existing offence of harassment, to ensure that it includes online activity such as posting fake social media profiles; and that there should be a separate offence of stalking, which is really an aggravated form of harassment."
• Statistics Canada Article on Family Violence in Canada (January 22, 2018): "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."

Public Health Crisis Management Playbook for Archives, Libraries, and Museums

The REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Project has published a Public Health Crisis Management Playbook for Archives, Libraries, and Museums.

REALM is a collaboration between OCLC, an international library services cooperative, the US government agency Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Battelle.

The document outlines processes, resources, and tools to aid cultural heritage institutions when planning for, navigating through, and recovering from a significant public health emergency. 

It covers the following topics:

• Crisis leadership - Provides starting points for crisis management and communications planning
• Facilities and operations - Offers considerations for determining processes for decision-making about collections management, space configuration, building systems, and safety protocols
• Crisis decision-making and risk management - Overviews risk assessment, information gathering, and decision-making during uncertain times
• Resource networks - Shares strategies for identifying partners and maintaining collaborative relationships, including a tool for visualizing an institution’s potential partners during a crisis
• Resources for more information - Provides all resources used to develop the playbook, as well as additional materials that can be used in developing a public health crisis management plan

American Association of Law Libraries Launches Online Legal Information Resources

The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has launched the Online Legal Information Resources collection.

It includes links to session laws, statutory codes, registers, administrative codes, and court opinions for U.S. states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and the U.S. Federal Government.

Interestingly, it also indicates whether the legal materials are official, authentic, preserved, and/or copyright-protected.

Example for US federal info:

The collection is part of AALL’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan to promote greater access to justice by making authoritative legal information  easier to find.

September 2022 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 September 2022 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 etc.
• listings of papers and readings (white papers, presentations, reports)

September 2022 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The September 2022 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.