Recent Government of Canada Publications from the Weekly Acquisitions List

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

It is a record of all publications catalogued in the previous week.

Some of the documents in the most recent list include:

• Electronic records as documentary evidence (Canadian General Standards Board): "CAN/CGSB-72.34 specifies principles, methods, and practices for the creation (i.e. making, receipt, and capture) and management of all forms of electronic records (e.g. e-mail, cartographic, audio-visual, textual, multimedia, etc.) to support their admissibility [see admissibility (records), admissibility (rules), and weight (of evidence)] as evidences in legal proceedings. Because this standard provides only general legal, management and technical information, users should seek further advice before applying its recommendations to specific records or systems. This standard is harmonized with applicable federal, provincial and territorial acts in force and their pursuant regulation at the time of the Committee’s deliberations. Where differences exist between an act or a regulation and this standard, the former will prevail."
• Annual Report 2023-2024 (Communications Security Establishment): "Canada is facing new and evolving security threats, including climate change and its impacts on the Arctic, cybercrime, violent extremism, and threats from Russia, China, and other nation states to the international rules that keep us all safe. But the work CSE is doing across all aspects of its mandate plays a significant role in protecting Canada from these threats now and into the future. We are pleased to present this annual report, which details CSE’s record of success in combating cybercrime and the emerging threats facing Canada and the world. The report highlights to Canadians what CSE has done over the past year. Reports like these are vital for an open and accountable government and help build public faith in our institutions."
• Special Bulletin on financial activity associated with suspected sanctions evasion (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada): "Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (the Act), the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) produces strategic intelligence to provide analytical perspectives on the nature and scope of money laundering, terrorist activity financing, the financing of threats to the security of Canada, and sanctions evasion. This Special Bulletin provides background information relevant to Canada’s sanctions regime and aims to inform reporting entities on the characteristics of completed or attempted financial transactions related to suspected sanctions evasion to support their ability to meet expanded obligations under the Act, effective August 19, 2024."
• RECALL TO REIMAGINE: (Re)Creating the Law Commission of Canada (Law Commission of Canada): "The spring of 2023 marked a fresh start for the Law Commission of Canada, an independent federal agency mandated with the study, review, and development of Canada’s law and legal systems in ways responsive to changing needs across this country. Active from 1997- 2006, the Commission reemerged from a 17-year hibernation (...) In this paper, the Law Commission of Canada demonstrates its commitment to learning from the past by drawing guidance and insights from the structure and work of its earlier version. As suggested by the paper’s title, recreating the Law Commission of Canada relies on imagination grounded in recall. The directives that frame Part I — “recall, remember and retell” — invite us to look back to the Law Commission of 1997-2006. Those of Part II — “rebuild, resituate, reimagine” — capture the mission and promise of today’s Law Commission. The work of recall should provide foundations to inspire and shape reimagined projects and potential."

Law Commission of Ontario AI Case Study: Probabilistic Genotyping DNA Tools Used in Canadian Courts

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) has released an AI Case Study: Probabilistic Genotyping DNA Tools Used in Canadian Courts:

"Probabilistic genotyping (PG) is the use of artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze DNA samples collected in police investigations or criminal prosecutions. The overarching concern of this report is to examine whether and how AI-driven technologies like PG can continue to meet the high standards of due process, accountability and transparency, and fundamental legal rights demanded by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and, by extension, the criminal justice system."

"The data and data science used at every stage of AI and algorithmic decision-making have human rights, equity, due process, and access to justice consequences. These tools often have built-in and largely hidden biases and discriminatory inferences in their decision-making. While appearing scientific, objective, and authoritative, they may be unreliable and invalid. Failure to study, understand, and regulate these tools can have significant system-wide and individual repercussions. Absent proper scrutiny, process, and legislation, there is a risk that AI tools, including PG DNA algorithms, will worsen racism in Canada’s justice system, and put access to justice further out of reach for many Ontarians. Unequal access to participation in decision-making about data and technology can further entrench existing biases and inequality. Reliance on AI tools, like PG DNA algorithms, may provide what appears to be infallible and reliable scientific evidence against individuals who are factually innocent. Because of the well-established over-representation of low income people and members of racialized and Indigenous communities in the criminal justice system, those most likely to face PG DNA evidence will often be those least likely to be financially resourced to challenge it. Absent proper scientific study, regulation, enforcement of relevant Charter rights, and due process protections, PG DNA evidence may lead to wrongful convictions. This concern is likely to disproportionately impact on communities that already suffer from systemic discrimination in the justice system and Canadian society at large."

It is part of the LCO's project on AI (artificial intelligence), ADM (automated decision-making ) and the Justice System.

Law Commission of New Zealand Report on Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations

The Law Commission of New Zealand recently published a report on The Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations.

In New Zealand the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995 gives the Police powers to collect and use DNA in investigating crime. The Act also regulates two DNA databanks. These databanks store DNA information from individuals who have been charged with, or convicted of, certain offences. This information can then be compared to DNA collected from the scenes of unsolved crimes.

The Minister of Justice had asked the Law Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the Act. The purpose of the review is to determine whether the current legislation is fit for purpose and keeping pace with developments in forensic science, international best practice and public attitudes. 

The Commission recommends a new, comprehensive regime to control how DNA is obtained, used and retained for criminal investigations. Core recommendations include:

• Improving protections for adults from whom Police seek to obtain DNA by consent or on arrest.
• Requiring a court order to obtain DNA from suspects who are children or young people or who lack the ability to provide consent.
• Regulating the use of DNA where the current law is either silent or fragmented. This includes elimination sampling, mass screening, familial searching, and genetic genealogy searching.
• Establishing a single DNA databank to hold all DNA profiles obtained by Police with clear rules on how these DNA profiles can be used.
• Restricting the retention of offenders’ DNA profiles and aligning any retention of youth offender profiles more closely with the rehabilitative focus of the youth justice regime.
• Creating an independent mechanism for the assessment of new DNA analysis techniques and whether these should be approved for use.
• Improving oversight by increasing the role of the judiciary, establishing a new DNA Oversight Committee (with mandatory Māori representation), and providing for external auditing by the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

Policy Options Article on Faulty Logic of Sexual Assault Trials

Policy Options, the online journal produced by the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy, has just published an article entitled Tracking the faulty logic of sexual assault trials:

"We’re mining Canadian court transcripts to better understand how interrogation strategies used in the courtroom have an impact on decision-making in Canadian courts.  In sexual assault court cases there are usually two conflicting stories: she says 'rape,' he says 'sex.' Who is lying? The court must weigh the evidence and decide. But how do courts 'think'? (...)"

"We found repeated examples of three categories of illogical arguments used by defence lawyers in the cross-examinations of victim-witnesses. These arguments were largely accepted by the courts, were not objected to by Crowns and often appeared to be associated with an acquittal of the accused."

The four authors, Amanda Parriag, Edward Renner, Laura Park, and Wendy Hovdestad, had conducted a similar analysis of 105 sexual assault trials some 20 years ago and conclude that many of the same logical fallacies are being committed today.

Irish Law Reform Commission Report on Search Warrants and Bench Warrants

The Law Reform Commission of Ireland has released a Report on Search Warrants and Bench Warrants that proposes that the 300 current laws on search warrants should be replaced by a single generally applicable Search Warrants Act, which would contain standard rules on applying for, issuing and executing warrants.

At the moment in Ireland, 143 Acts and 159 ministerial Regulations allow the police and regulators (such as the Central Bank, commercial regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency) to apply to the District Court for warrants to search premises and seize material in connection with suspected theft, drugs offences or corporate offences.

Among the details of the recommendations:

• The proposed Search Warrants Act would apply to all indictable offences and to certain summary offences (notably those involving implementation of EU-derived law).
• The general validity period for search warrants should be 7 days, which may be extended if needed (three extensions only). Emergency search warrants issued by the High Court should last for 24 hours only. Exceptional 30 day time limits for search warrants in, for example, the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 and the Companies Act 2014 should be retained because they are needed to investigate complex corporate offences.
• Search warrants should, in general, be executed at reasonable times (usually, daylight hours), but may be executed at other times (so called “dawn raids”) if a case is made to the court that this is required.
• Material reasonably believed to be evidence of or relating to an offence, not necessarily the offence to which the search warrant refers, may be seized if found during a search.
• The admissibility of material over which privilege is claimed (for example, legal professional privilege) should be adjudicated by the High Court.
• A Code of Practice on Search Warrants should be published by the Minister for Justice and Equality, which would contain practical guidance on the procedures to be followed in search warrants.
• Failure to comply with the Search Warrants Act or the Code of Practice should not, of itself, affect the admissibility of evidence. The rules on the admissibility or inadmissibility of illegally and unconstitutionally obtained evidence will continue to be developed by the courts.

 The report also provides a history of warrants in the common law tradition.

Alberta Law Reform Institute Discussion Report on Witness Competency

The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) has issued a Report for Discussion on Competence and Communication in the Alberta Evidence Act (AEA):

"On occasion, a court must determine whether a proposed witness is competent to give evidence. The question arises with child witnesses and may also arise for adults with cognitive impairment. Alberta legislation about competence has not kept pace with modern knowledge about children’s abilities, and fails to address adults with cognitive impairment. It also has a gap affecting witnesses who use alternative means of communication. This Report for Discussion contains preliminary recommendations for updating Alberta legislation to address these issues (...)"

"Significant reform surrounding the admissibility of children’s evidence has occurred both federally and in other provinces. Multiple law reform agencies (including ALRI) have recommended changes to the approach to children’s evidence, and substantial reform has also taken place in other common law jurisdictions. Despite this, the AEA provisions governing children’s evidence have remained essentially unchanged since 1910."

"The AEA approach to children’s evidence is based on the notion that children are inherently unreliable witnesses. However, modern psychological research has undermined these traditional assumptions. It is now widely accepted that many children are capable of providing appropriate and helpful information to a court, particularly if the court and counsel are aware of children’s linguistic and cognitive development and treat them appropriately."

"In contrast, and despite the express regulation of children’s competence, the AEA does not contain provisions regarding competence of adult witnesses. Adult witnesses are presumed competent unless their competence is challenged. If a competency inquiry is required with respect to an adult witness, the common law applies. If an adult is shown to be incapable of understanding the nature of an oath, the adult will be barred from giving evidence. It would be preferable to have a comprehensive set of rules regarding competence of all witnesses in order to promote consistency and avoid arbitrary distinctions between children and adults."

December 2014 Issue of the Journal du Barreau

The December 2014/January 2015 issue of the Journal du Barreau is available on the website of the Québec Bar Association.

Among the highlights are articles on:

• the Association's presentation to the Charbonneau Commission on corruption in the province's construction industry,
• rules governing testimony in court by medical experts
• the issue of consent in sexual relations, in particular those involving sadomasochism

2014 Federal Annual Report on Reviews of Possible Miscarriages of Justice

In the most recent Weekly Checklist of federal government publications, the latest annual report by Justice Canada on applications for ministerial review in cases of possible miscarriages of justice is listed:

"Since 1892, the Minister of Justice has had the power, in one form or another, to review a criminal conviction under federal law to determine whether there may have been a miscarriage of justice. The current regime is set out in sections 696.1 – 696.6 of the Criminal Code."

"The conviction review process begins when a person submits an 'application for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice),' also known as a conviction review application. The application for ministerial review must be supported by new matters of significance — usually important new information or evidence that was not previously considered by the courts. If the Minister is satisfied that those matters provide a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred, the Minister may grant the convicted person a remedy and return the case to the courts — either referring the case to a court of appeal to be heard as a new appeal or directing that a new trial be held. The Minister may also refer a question to the court of appeal in the appropriate province."

"Under section 696.5 of the Criminal Code, the Minister of Justice is required to submit an annual report to Parliament regarding applications for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice) within six months of the end of the fiscal year. This is the 12th annual report, and it covers the period from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Under the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice (the Regulations),the report must address the following matters:

• the number of applications for ministerial review made to the Minister;
• the number of applications that have been abandoned or that are incomplete;
• the number of applications that are at the preliminary assessment stage;
• the number of applications that are at the investigation stage;
• the number of decisions that the Minister has made; and
• any other information that the Minister considers appropriate."

The Weekly Checklist includes a listing of titles made available by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada to the Depository Services Program for distribution to a network of Depository Libraries in Canada and abroad.

Alberta Law Reform Institute Final Report on Oaths to Tell the Truth

The Alberta Law Reform Institute has published a report that recommends changes to the Alberta Evidence Act that deal with oaths that witnesses must make to tell the truth before giving evidence:

"In our legal system, a witness or a deponent of an affidavit must promise to tell the truth before giving evidence. The Alberta Evidence Act (AEA) makes swearing a religious oath the automatic requirement of first resort. Every witness or deponent is asked to swear. Only if someone personally takes the initiative to actively object to swearing an oath may that person possibly make a secular affirmation instead. But the judge or official administering the procedure must first make an inquiry and be satisfied that the objection to swearing an oath is justified on certain specified grounds."

"Historically, this 'object-and-justify' model was the standard statutory approach used by Canadian provinces and territories, American and Australian states, and the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Today, however, the majority of those jurisdictions have discontinued this approach and now largely use the 'free choice' model instead. In the free choice model, a witness or deponent is simply asked by the judge or official administering the procedure whether they want to swear an oath or affirm. There are no preconditions. People do not need to object to taking an oath first and do not need to justify which choice is made. Both options are treated equally."

"The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) recommends that the AEA be amended to adopt the free choice model as well. There are some indications that the current object-and- justify model may cause a certain level of difficulty, stress or confusion both for those who administer it and those who swear or affirm. As well, it is not good for Alberta to be so legally out of step with other jurisdictions on this matter. Society has changed and in our increasingly pluralistic and secular society, it seems inappropriate to maintain a legal hierarchy which gives greater status to swearing than affirming. Such a legal hierarchy may also infringe equality rights or the right to freedom of conscience and religion guaranteed by the Charter."

The report looked at practices in other Canadian jurisdictions, the United States, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

March 2014 Issue of Connected Bulletin on Courts and Social Media

The March 2014 issue of Connected is available online. The bulletin covers news about the impact of new social media on courts.

In this month's issue:

• State Court Public Information Officer Attacked over Social Media Usage
• Admissibility of Social Media Postings into Evidence
• Judges’ Use of Social Media
• Survey of 583 Actual US Jurors on Social Media

Most of the items are about the United States, but there is occasional coverage of other jurisdictions.

The bulletin is published by the Virginia-based National Center for State Courts and the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.

Irish Law Reform Commission Issues Paper on Disclosure and Discovery in Criminal Cases

The Law Reform Commission of Ireland last week released an Issues Paper on Disclosure and Discovery in Criminal Cases.

The Commission is seeking input on four related issues:

1. The scope of the prosecution duty of disclosure
2. The possibility of discovery in criminal cases
3. The possibility of a procedure to provide the accused access to materials in the possession of third parties - the issue may arise in sexual offence cases where the accused seeks access to therapeutic records held by a third party who has treated or advised a potential witness. This involves the competing rights of the accused to a fair trial and the confidentiality rights of third parties and their patients or client
4. The interests of various parties in criminal proceedings, including claims to privilege 

As the document explains:

"The purpose of an Issues Paper is to provide a summary or outline of a project on which the Commission is embarking or on which work is already underway, and to provide readers with an opportunity to express views and to make suggestions and comments on specific questions. The Issues Papers are circulated to members of the legal professions and to other professional groups who are likely to have a particular interest in, or specialist knowledge of, the relevant topic."

2013 Federal Annual Report on Reviews of Possible Miscarriages of Justice

In the most recent Weekly Checklist of federal government publications, the latest annual report by Justice Canada on applications for ministerial review in cases of possible miscarriages of justice is listed:

"Since 1892, the Minister of Justice has had the power, in one form or another, to review a criminal conviction under federal law to determine whether there may have been a miscarriage of justice. The current regime is set out in section 696.1 – 696.6 of the Criminal Code."  

"The conviction review process begins when a person submits an 'application for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice),' also known as a conviction review application. "

"The application for ministerial review must be supported by new matters of significance — usually important new information or evidence that was not previously considered by the courts. If the Minister is satisfied that those matters provide a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred, the Minister may grant the convicted person a remedy and return the case to the courts — either referring the case to a court of appeal to be heard as a new appeal or directing that a new trial be held. The Minister may also refer a question to the court of appeal in the appropriate province (...) " 

"Under section 696.5 of the Criminal Code, the Minister of Justice is required to submit an annual report to Parliament regarding applications for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice) within six months of the end of the fiscal year. This is the 11th annual report, and it covers the period from April 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013. Under the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice (the Regulations), the report must address the following matters:  

• the number of applications for ministerial review made to the Minister;  the number of applications that have been abandoned or that are incomplete; the number of applications that are at the preliminary assessment stage; the number of applications that are at the investigation stage; the number of decisions that the Minister has made; and any other information that the Minister considers appropriate."

The Weekly Checklist includes a listing of titles made available by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada to the Depository Services Program for distribution to a network of Depository Libraries in Canada and abroad.

Law Reform Commission of Ireland Issues Paper on Evidence Legislation

The Law Reform Commission of Ireland has released an issues paper on the Consolidation of evidence legislation:

"As part of its forthcoming Report on Evidence (the “Report”) the Commission is considering recommending the consolidation of existing legislation concerning the law of evidence , together with reform of three areas of the law of evidence : hearsay, documentary (including electronic) evidence and expert evidence . The Commission envisages the Report having two aspects . The Commission first intends to discuss and make recommendations concerning a general consolidation of the existing legislation on the law of evidence, both pre-1922 and post-1922, (the “general consolidation”). This will be the focus of Chapter 1 of the Report. In the remaining chapters of the Report, the Commission also intends to discuss the consolidation and reform of the law on hearsay, documentary (including electronic) evidence and expert evidence , on which the Commission has published three separate Consultation Papers (the “specific reforms”) . The law in these three areas comprises a combination of common law and legislation, and the Commission’s Report will involve recommendations proposing consolidating and reforming the existing law . In this context, the Commission is minded to take this opportunity to consolidate into a single Bill the existing legislation together with the reforms being proposed on hearsay, documentary and electronic evidence and expert evidence. While this would not produce, at this stage, a comprehensive statement in legislative form of all the law of evidence, the Commission considers that, taking into account the reforms being proposed in the three specific areas mentioned, it would constitute a worthwhile step in that direction (...) "

"The Commission is currently inclined towards appending to its forthcoming Report a single draft Evidence Bill containing both the general consolidation and the specific reforms discussed above, which would in general apply to both civil and criminal proceedings. This general approach would be subject to some exceptions such as in the area of hearsay in respect of which the Commission is currently inclined to the view that separate treatment for civil and criminal proceedings is required."

As the Commission explains:

"The purpose of an Issues Paper is to provide a summary or outline of a project on which the Commission is embarking or on which work is already underway, and to provide readers with an opportunity to express views and to make suggestions and comments on specific questions (...) These Issues Papers represent current thinking within the Commission on the various items mentioned. They should not be taken as representing settled positions that have been taken by the Commission."

2013 Stephen Hanson Awards for Excellence in Journalism

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has announced the winners of the 2013 Stephen Hanson Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

They "recognize outstanding broadcast and print or web journalism that fosters public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system and the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system."

The award in the print category was given to Paul Webster of Vancouver Magazine for his article entitled The War on The War on Drugs that shows that many law enforcement officers are skeptical of current drug laws.

The award in the broadcast category went to CBC reporter Joe Schlesinger and producer Bonnie Brown for their report Truth, Lies and Confessions about false confessions.

The CBA website has a complete list of winners from previous years.

Recent Evolution of Expert Evidence in Selected Common Law Jurisdictions Around the World

In the most recent issue of The Lawyers Weekly, Erik Arnold summarizes a study he wrote with Errol Soriano on trends and practices concerning the use of expert evidence in common law jurisdictions around the world.

The study, which was commissioned by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators, looked at the situation in Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia, and in international arbitration.

As Arnold writes:

"In virtually every jurisdiction surveyed, adversarial bias was identified as the single most important problem with expert opinion evidence. Guarding against what we term 'advocacy by experts' has become a major focus for stakeholders."

"In response to these concerns, recent amendments to the rules of civil procedure in various jurisdictions have sought two common objectives — formally defining the expert’s duty to the court and placing limits on the allowable scope of the expert’s evidence. Reporting requirements in various jurisdictions now mandate, at a minimum, positive affirmation of the expert’s roles, responsibilities and, in particular, their duty to the court. The persistent concern regarding experts has also led to reduced autonomy regarding the content of their reports. "

"The cost of litigation was the next most cited problem with expert evidence, and it was a close second. The view that expert evidence is expensive is not new. Until recently, however, the dialogue amounted to resigned complaint and not actionable reform. This is beginning to change."

"Rules committees and other stakeholders are now focused on the possible substance and form of procedural reform, the objective being to reduce costs of opinion evidence while maintaining the tenets of the adversarial judicial system favored in each jurisdiction. As a result, innovative approaches to expert evidence are emerging."

The full text of the report is available on the site of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators.

Updated Canadian E-Discovery Case Law Digests

The Ontario Bar Association website has updated its Canadian E-Discovery Case Law (Common Law) Digests collection:

"This digest is maintained by the members of the Sedona Canada Working Group (WG7); it was originally created by the members of the eDiscovery sub-committee of the Task Force on the Discovery Process in Ontario and is a supplement to the eDiscovery Guidelines."

"Since CANLII now offers deep linking to decisions' paragraphs, the newer entries have direct links in the summary to the appropriate sections of the decision."

There are digests for topics such as:

• Scope of production and discovery
• Requests for further production
• Failure to disclose or produce for inspection
• Pleading practices
• Preservation of evidence
• Spoliation
• Discovery Plan
• Proportionality and Marginal Utility
• Document Retention Policies
• Acceptable Use Policies
• Form of production
• Metadata, deleted and hidden information
• Costs of e-discovery
• Duplicate Documents
• Social Media and Internet Information
• Examination of an IT Representative
• Forensic Collection and Preservation
• Privacy Issues
• Third Party Information and Norwich orders
• Anton Piller Orders
• Temporary Internet Files
• Conduct, civility and collegiality

CanLII Offers New Commentary Text on Exclusion of Evidence

CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute) recently added to the new commentary section on its website by publishing The Supreme Court of Canada on S. 24(2) of the Charter by Hon. Gerard Mitchell, the retired chief justice of Prince Edward Island:

"Section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms directs courts, to exclude unconstitutionally obtained evidence where, having regard to all the circumstances, its admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. As part of the Charter, and by virtue of s. 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982, s. 24(2) is the supreme law of the land. It changed the common law which prior thereto would have admitted virtually all reliable relevant evidence regardless of how it was obtained.1 However, s. 24(2) does not completely erase the common law rule. It does not provide for the exclusion of all unconstitutionally obtained evidence. In fact, such evidence remains presumptively admissible. Section 24(2) only mandates exclusion where, after considering all the circumstances, the court concludes that admission of the evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute."

CanLII, whose funding comes from members of Canada’s provincial and territorial law societies, makes Canadian legal information, mostly legislation an case law, available for free via the Internet.But it has recently started offering commentary.

Earlier this year, CanLII described its strategic priorities for 2012-2014 as including the following:

"When it comes to accessing content on or through the CanLII site, CanLII will strive to expand its users’ access to high value legal materials. This may involve incorporating secondary sources into CanLII, but it could also occur through facilitating searches of materials hosted elsewhere as CanLII’s interests go beyond growing its own site and extend to pursuing partnerships that advance the goals of other leading legal information providers. Potential partners include not-for-proft as well as for-proft institutions with an interest in expanding the free availability of their legal materials."

"CanLII will also seek out opportunities to improve understanding. For example, working with educational and other organizations, CanLII will explore opportunities to develop specialized services such as topic compilations and open access casebooks, and other professional user-generated content."

March 2013 Symposium on Legacy of Retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Charon

The University of Ottawa will host a symposium on March 22-23, 2013 Celebrating the Contributions of Justice Louise Charron.

Madame Charron retired from the Supreme Court of Canada recently:

"This Symposium, like past events, provides an important opportunity for diverse members of the Canadian legal community to come together to celebrate and honour Justice Charron and her exceptional contributions to the Canadian legal landscape during her 23-year judicial career.  Although Justice Charron’s jurisprudence spans a variety of subject areas including private law, contracts, family law and constitutional law, she is best known for her foundational contributions to the world of criminal law and the notoriously complex law of evidence.  During her nearly seven years on the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Charron penned more of the Court’s criminal law jurisprudence than any other judge, and many of her decisions truly revolutionized the face of Canadian criminal law.  Committed to legal education and continuing education for lawyers and judges, Justice Charron has also served as the Associate Director of the National Judicial Institue and most recently joined the Advisory Board of the University of Ottawa’s Legal Writing Academy, a flagship program designed to elevate the writing skills of our JD students through innovative course offerings, peer-to-peer mentoring and writing workshops."

"The Symposium will result in a bilingual, edited collection of peer-reviewed scholarship broadly motivated by Justice Charron’s career and her diverse areas of expertise.  The publication of an edited volume of essays will create a permanent record of the Symposium proceedings and will allow for the broader dissemination of the ideas and analyses presented at the Symposium. "

Earlier Library Boy posts on Justice Charron include:

• Interview with Retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Charron (November 14, 2011) 
• Canadian Lawyer Magazine Interview With Retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Charron (April 3, 2012)

Canadian Lawyer Magazine Overview of Cases With Social Media as Evidence

Canadian Lawyer magazine today published an article by James D. Cuming and Craig Gillespie that shows that courts all across Canada have been finding that information on people's Facebook and other social networking accounts is highly relevant to litigation.

The authors, who are law partners in Calgary in the areas of class actions, medical malpractice and serious personal injury claims, summarize the key cases in which social networking information has been a key issue:

"In an action in which the claimant’s physical and mental ability to carry out tasks of daily living, to work, and to enjoy leisure activities are in issue, the information gained from user-posted photos and comments can be remarkable."

"On Facebook, a user may choose to make her profile information public, but more commonly will restrict the profile information to Facebook 'friends.' The challenge in document production arises when a party’s Facebook profile is private."

"Plaintiffs opposing production typically raise privacy as their chief concern. The courts have rejected the privacy argument on the grounds the plaintiff has already shared the information or images with, typically, several hundred 'friends' (...)"

"In summary, the case law is remarkably consistent across jurisdictions in characterizing the information posted on social networking sites such as Facebook as documents or records with potential relevance in litigation. Given the pervasive use of Facebook, plaintiff and defence counsel should be prepared to address social media as a routine part of their files."

New Canadian Report on Wrongful Convictions

The Federal/Provincial/Territorial Heads of Prosecutions Committee today released its new report on wrongful convictions entitled The Path to Justice: Preventing Wrongful Convictions.

It was written by a committee of senior prosecutors and police officers and is follow-up to a 2005 report entitled "Prevention of Miscarriages of Justice":

"The format of this update mirrors the original report: it provides a summary of developments in the law and reports on efforts to implement the 2005 recommendations. Those recommendations are re-examined in light of events over the past six years and, where appropriate, modifications are suggested. It also highlights international developments since 2005 and summarizes the key findings of Canadian commissions of inquiry held since the 2005 Report."

"The update canvasses the latest information on the most important causes of wrongful convictions, as described in the 2005 Report, including tunnel vision; eyewitness mis-identification; false confessions; use of in-custody informers; and inappropriate use of forensic evidence and expert testimony. Each of these issues is discussed in the context of what has been learned since 2005, through research and commissions of inquiry, for example."

(...)

"As set out in Chapter 10, there has been a phenomenal level of educational activity among police and prosecutors about the causes of wrongful convictions. Today there is a higher level of awareness than ever before among Canadian police and prosecutors about the causes of wrongful convictions and what can be done to prevent them, as the issue of wrongful convictions has achieved an unprecedented prominence in discussions at the highest level of police and prosecution organizations. Education about the phenomenon of miscarriages of justice is now a staple of training for rookie and senior officers and prosecutors alike."

"There is now a wealth of resources available to police and prosecutors on wrongful convictions. For example, a select list of Web sites is attached at Appendix A. Through this Subcommittee and its expert members, it is now clear that Canadian police, prosecutors and even the judiciary know where to turn for information and expertise on wrongful convictions."

"That said, of great concern is that in this era of fiscal restraint and new pressures on the justice system, there is a danger that this promising new level of activity will inevitably diminish. Thus the central message of this report must be the need for continued vigilance."