Department of Justice Canada

While policy development related to criminal legal aid is a shared federal/provincial/territorial responsibility, each province and territory is responsible for the delivery of legal aid services based on their own policies and procedures. This report provides national level statistics4 on...

The annual legal aid report presents data on legal aid delivery in Canada. This infographic presents trend data over five years from 2017-18 to 2021-22

This fact sheet is based on publicly available data from Statistics Canada. It examines data from 2020–2021 ─ the first year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, public health measures were put into place, which temporarily closed, postponed and/or restricted Canadian...

Data in this fact sheet are from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) and the 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (also known as the GSS on Victimization). The UCR Survey collects data on police-reported crime and the GSS on Victimization collects self-reported data on...

An infographic that summarizes the rise and impact of hate crimes in 2021

This fact sheet presents information on criminal court cases where the most serious offence in the case is a drug-related offence subject to a mandatory minimum penalty (MMP). Data were obtained through a request to the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (CCJCSS) and...

This report presents research findings on the delivery of legal aid and associated legal services to persons living in rural and remote areas of all provinces and territories. It is based on a review of the literature and interviews with 17 key respondents (with one or more from each...

Given the legal and practical constraints of the role of the prosecutor in CACs across jurisdictions in Canada, the aim of the current project was to explore how these relationships are currently being navigated and to document the variety of approaches to the Crown/CAC relationship. There is a...

Proposed legislative amendments to the Criminal Code to address repeat violent offending, crime involving firearms, dangerous weapons, intimate partner violence, and community safety. On May 16, 2023, the Government of Canada introduced proposed reforms to the Criminal Code to strengthen Canada’s...

In Canada, there are many ways to include children’s voices in family law matters such as through non-court child inclusive methods (e.g., children talking with their parents, children sharing their views with professionals) and court-based child inclusive methods (e.g., child legal...

This document presents findings from a study that was conducted to understand how children’s views are included in family law disputes in Canada, including through the use of Voice of the Child Reports (VCRs). VCRs, also called Views of the Child Reports or Hear the Child Reports, are...

As part of the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (2019-2024), this report provides an update on the most current strategies used by investigators in the field and is intended to improve the overall responses of law enforcement agencies to this national priority. This report also aims...

This is the first known study in Canada to explore the views of parents regarding their experiences with child support issues. Several issues related to child support that were shared by the respondents need further exploration in the research, including the context of shared parenting time...

Youth believed victims require more attention and support from the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Victims should be aware of their rights, have an opportunity to tell their stories, and receive some form of restitution for the harm experienced.

This fact sheet is based on data obtained through special requests to Correctional Service Canada (CSC) and Statistics Canada (Census). It examines the number and rate of federal adult offenders under community supervision over time, and draws comparisons between Indigenous and non-Indigenous...

This Litigation Year in Review 2016 is intended to provide Canadians with some highlights of the progress we made this past year in several important areas of litigation. In reviewing and rethinking the Government’s litigation strategy over the course of 2016, I focused on three main themes:...

The release of this action plan is the result of the first and second phase of the consultation and cooperation process and reflects another important step on our journey of reconciliation. We acknowledge the tight timeframes imposed by the UN Declaration Act, which created challenges for us all....

This report presents findings on the representation and outcomes of Black people as accused in Canadian criminal courts. This is the first time that national statistics on Black accused in criminal courts are reported in Canada.

The Department of Justice Canada has contracted community-based research to better understand the lives of individuals involved in the sex trade. The former 2014 legislation, Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, also known as the “Nordic” model or approach, targets...

This fact sheet is based on data obtained through special request to Correctional Services Canada (CSC) and Statistics Canada (Census). It examines the numbers and rate of federal adult offenders in custody supervision over time, and draws comparisons between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups....