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Legal research for the non-legal librarian

Legal research for the non-legal librarian . Wendy Reynolds, Ontario Securities Commission. You are better off not knowing how sausages and laws are made. -- Anonymous. Agenda. Overview of Ontario’s legal system Documents/information produced by each branch Laws (Acts) Regulations

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Legal research for the non-legal librarian

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  1. Legal research for the non-legal librarian Wendy Reynolds, Ontario Securities Commission

  2. You are better off not knowing how sausages and laws are made. -- Anonymous

  3. Agenda • Overview of Ontario’s legal system • Documents/information produced by each branch • Laws (Acts) • Regulations • Orders and Decisions • Questions

  4. Ontario’s legal system • “Law” derives from three sources: • Legislative (Queen’s Park) • Executive (“The government”) • Judicial (The Courts) • Each branch produces documents unique to itself – the key to good legal research is knowing the differences.

  5. Legislation Ontario Legislature considers possible laws through a five-step legislative process: First reading Second reading Committee review Third reading Royal Assent If a bill passes through every step, it becomes a Statute of Ontario, and is LAW.

  6. Federal bills C-19 An Act to amend the Competition Act C-241 An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction for volunteer emergency service) S-17 An Act to implement an agreement, conventions and protocols concluded between Canada and Gabon, Ireland, Armenia, Oman and Azerbaijan for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion

  7. But is it in force? • Once signed, bills are part of the Statutes of Ontario BUT may not yet be in force. Why? • To allow the preparation of regulations • To allow people affected by the Act to get ready • To wait for a favourable political environment

  8. Commencement 2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. -- MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004 . 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 2

  9. Commencement       11.  This Act comes into force on March 1, 2005. -- Employment Standards Amendment Act (Hours of Work and Other Matters), 2004. 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 21.

  10. Commencement 35.  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. Same (2)  Subsections 20 (1), (2), (3) and (4) shall be deemed to have come into force on May 19, 2004. -- The Budget Measures Act, 2004. 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 7

  11. Commencement 51.  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. Same (2)  Sections 1 to 50 come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. --Public Accounting Act, 2004. 2004 Statutes of Ontario, ch. 8

  12. The legislative paper trail • Bills – proposed statutes. Not binding on the population until passed. • Debates – what the legislature said about bills and other issues of the day. (aka Hansard) • House business – results of votes and proceedings, committee reports and other documents created in the course of everyday life.

  13. Important information • Parliament/Legislature– the time between elections. • Session – the time between Throne Speeches.

  14. Where to find it • www.ontla.on.ca – the Legislature’s web site. Goes back to September 26, 1995. • For material predating September 26, 1995, you must consult paper sources • Hansard –minutes of the debates of the Legislature. • Bills. • Reports, proceedings, and other publications. • Depository libraries are an excellent source of documents.

  15. Amending statutes • Society changes, so must the law. • Amending statutes allow legislatures to change aspects of an existing act without losing the basic structure. • To understand how an act reads today, we must consider the entire history of the act, including all of its amendments.

  16. Statutes of Ontario • Where you look for “the law”. • Available at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca (current to within 10 days). • Also available in paper – Statutes of Ontario (you must construct your own consolidation). • Commercially-published consolidations and annotations may also be available for high-use acts (e.g. Ontario Securities Act, Ontario Business Corporations Act, Income Tax Act).

  17. CHAPTER 2 An Act to amend theLegislative Assembly Actto freeze the salaries of membersof the Assembly until the end offiscal year 2004-2005 Assented to April 15, 2004 Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: 1.  The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by adding the following section: Salary freeze until end of fiscal year 2004-2005 61.1  Despite anything else in this Act and despite anything done under this Act, (a)   the annual salary of a member, until April 1, 2005, shall remain the same as it was on October 2, 2003; and (b)   there shall be no increase in the annual salary of a member with respect to the period that began on October 2, 2003 and ends on March 31, 2005. Commencement 2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. Short title 3.  The short title of this Act is the MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004. Back to topFrançais

  18. CHAPTER 2 An Act to amend theLegislative Assembly Actto freeze the salaries of membersof the Assembly until the end offiscal year 2004-2005 Assented to April 15, 2004 Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: 1.  The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by adding the following section: Salary freeze until end of fiscal year 2004-2005 61.1  Despite anything else in this Act and despite anything done under this Act, (a)   the annual salary of a member, until April 1, 2005, shall remain the same as it was on October 2, 2003; and (b)   there shall be no increase in the annual salary of a member with respect to the period that began on October 2, 2003 and ends on March 31, 2005. Commencement 2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. Short title 3.  The short title of this Act is the MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004. Back to topFrançais

  19. CHAPTER 2 An Act to amend theLegislative Assembly Actto freeze the salaries of membersof the Assembly until the end offiscal year 2004-2005 Assented to April 15, 2004 Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: 1.  The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by adding the following section: Salary freeze until end of fiscal year 2004-2005 61.1  Despite anything else in this Act and despite anything done under this Act, (a)   the annual salary of a member, until April 1, 2005, shall remain the same as it was on October 2, 2003; and (b)   there shall be no increase in the annual salary of a member with respect to the period that began on October 2, 2003 and ends on March 31, 2005. Commencement 2.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. Short title 3.  The short title of this Act is the MPP Salary Freeze Act, 2004. Back to topFrançais

  20. Interpretation, other general matters Definitions 1.  (1)  In this Act, “associate”, where used to indicate a relationship with any person or company, means,          (a)    any company of which such person or company beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, voting securities carrying more than 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all voting securities of the company for the time being outstanding,          (b)    any partner of that person or company,          (c)    any trust or estate in which such person or company has a substantial beneficial interest or as to which such person or company serves as trustee or in a similar capacity,          (d)    any relative of that person who resides in the same home as that person,          (e)    any person who resides in the same home as that person and to whom that person is married, or any person of the opposite sex or the same sex who resides in the same home as that person and with whom that person is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage, or           (f)    any relative of a person mentioned in clause (e) who has the same home as that person; (“personne qui a un lien”)

  21. Questions?

  22. Regulations How government operates on a daily basis. Flows from the ministries, departments and agencies – not subject to a vote. “Delegated legislation”.

  23. Finding regulations • Consult E-laws (www.e-laws.gov.on.ca) for the most recent version of a regulation. • Published in Ontario Gazette. Available as a paper subscription, or on the web at www.ontariogazette.gov.on.ca • Regulations may also be amended, so it is necessary to consolidate regulations as well.

  24. Federal regulations • Published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Available in paper, and on the web at http://canadagazette.gc.ca/ • The Canada Gazette is published in three parts – Part I contains public notices, proposed regulations and announcements of appointments. Part II contains final versions of regulations, and Part III contains new statutes which have recently received Royal Assent. • Web version of the Canada Gazette dates back to 1998.

  25. Questions?

  26. I’ll see you in court!

  27. Taking a reasoned approach • Reasons for decision – the lifeblood of court-made law. • Appeals. • Reported vs unreported decisions. • Noting up cases.

  28. On the (paper) trail of court decisions • Orders and reasons issued by courts. • Significant decisions published by commercial vendors. • Online. • Noting up.

  29. Citation Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703 Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28 Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

  30. Citation Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703 Style of cause Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28 Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

  31. Citation Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703 Citation Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28 Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

  32. Citation Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703 Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28 Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

  33. Citation Granovsky v Canada, [2000] 1 SCR 703 Granovsky v Canada, 2000 SCC 28 Granovsky v Canada, [2000] S.C.J. No. 29

  34. What are other people saying? • Legal and general newspapers • Journals and reviews • Law firm websites and blogs

  35. Key questions • What type of document are you looking for – statute, regulation, or decision? • What jurisdiction are you looking for? (Federal, provincial, other?) • Dates – is the client looking for the most recent version of a statute/reg, or are they looking for something older? • If the client is looking for a court decision, determine the level of the court, date of decision and judge if possible. If the client has a citation to a specific decision, this information is less important.

  36. Protecting yourself • Don’t offer legal advice. • Assist the client in finding documents. Don’t interpret them. Suggest that the client retain legal counsel if they don’t know what to do to resolve the issue. • To find a lawyer, go to www.canadianlawlist.com or the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Lawyer Referral Service (http://www.lsuc.on.ca/public/referral_en.jsp)

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