Department of Justice Canada

The Handbook for Police and Crown Prosecutors purposes itself to provide police and Crown prosecutors with guidelines for the investigation and prosecution of criminal harassment cases and to promote an integrated criminal justice response to stalking. The Handbook was developed by a working...

Bill C-26 the Citizens Arrest and Self-defence Act, S.C. 2012 c.9, came into force on march 11, 2013. The legislation replaces the old Criminal Code provisions on self-defence and defence of property with new and reformed defences. The purpose of the Technical Guide is to promote, for legal...

This publication consists of two volumes. This particular asset is volume two of two. It was produced by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Family Law Committee and the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Task Force on the Implementation of Child Support Reforms. The publication addresses the...

Government Responses and Standing Committee Reports discuss reports tabled concerning justice-related issues. These responses are meant to provide greater insight into government decisions and the background that lead to these decisions. Topics covered by these reports, dating back to 1998...

The mandate of Justice Canada’s internal audit function is to help Justice Canada achieve its strategic outcomes by using a systematic and disciplined approach to assess and contribute to the continuous improvement of its risk management, internal control, and governance processes. The results of...

The Privacy Act (PA) was proclaimed into force on July 1, 1983. The PA extends to individuals the right of access to information about themselves held by the Government, subject to specific and limited exceptions. The PA also protects individuals privacy by presenting others from having access...

The costs of victimization of five violent crimes are analyzed in this report: assault, criminal harassment, homicide, robbery, and sexual assault and other sexual offences. Incidents that occurred in 2009 are included, and all costs, or impacts, of those incidents are included, regardless of...

The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR) came into force on July 23, 2015. The CBVR created statutory rights at the federal level for victims of crime. The legislation establishes statutory rights for victims of information, protection, participation, and to seek restitution. It also requires...

The Report is divided into two parts: the first part of the report addresses the issue of cyberbullying and includes information relating to the scope of the problem, the impact of cyberbullying on victims, existing legislative and policy responses and options for Criminal Code reform to address...

Please note that the Departmental Plans, Reports on Plans and Priorities from 2001-2006 have been archived by the Library and Archives on their website, and are no longer updated. Departmental Plans from 2006-2012 have also been archived by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and will...

Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) became law in Canada on December 18, 2018. This amendment to the Criminal Code allowed police to demand a breath test of any driver even in the absence of suspicion or cause. MAS introduced a fundamental change in the approach used by police officers to enforce...

In 2018, Parliament enacted former Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, S.C. 2018, c. 21 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) to create new and stronger laws to combat impaired driving. The Act...

The Emergencies Act, which became law in 1988, is a federal law that can be used by the federal government in the event of a national emergency.

Between August 2020 and April 2021, the Department of Justice Canada (JUS), in collaboration with the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat at the Department of Canadian Heritage, conducted an engagement process to better understand the challenges facing Black youth who have been in contact with and...

Legal clinics in Canada may provide a variety of services, the most usual being free legal information, summary advice, coaching, and representation to low-income clients who meet certain eligibility criteria. Although one or more of these core services may exist in any given clinic, there is no...

This report provides national level statistics on revenues, expenditures, personnel, and caseloads from legal aid plans across Canada. Justice Canada has been producing the Legal Aid in Canada report since 2016-17, and this is the fifth annual edition. This year’s report includes data from the...

The Survey of Family Courts (SFC) is a long-standing online survey that documents detailed information about the contents of court orders and separation agreements. This snapshot of data collected between 2018 and 2019 focuses on custody and access, legal representation, and the relationship...

This research study was undertaken with a view to fulfilling two goals. The first is to take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of the SST Navigator Service with a view to sharing knowledge about this novel service more broadly among administrative tribunals at the federal level, and in the...

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...

This report provides a review of recent developments in regulatory action and program activity aimed at improving access to justice through assistance provided by non-lawyers in community-based not-for-profit settings. We call this type of assistance “community justice help”. The purpose of this...