Welcome!
Today I hope to talk a little bit about legal citation, when to use it, and where to find information about it. This will hopefully better prepare you for the next library session, where I will focus on how to find information using CanLII to support your course assignment. Today I will cover
You have also been asked to complete an assignment (you can view it and download it here).
Why do we recommend the use McGill?!
CRJS is unique in that we often must consult a variety of government documents, including legal documents to support our assignments. However, APA , Chicago and MLA citation manuals do not provide sufficient examples of Canadian law. Therefore, when we are referring to primary law in our writing, which refers to case law/jurisprudence, legislation (statutes and regulations), bills, and debates, we advise you apply the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, or commonly referred to as The McGill Guide or sometimes "the red book".
**Only use McGill citation style when we are making reference primary legal resources. If there is an example of what you are trying to cite in a (eg: journals, books, websites), please use APA!
Where to find Legal Citation Resources?
There are a variety of resources available that will help you cite Canadian law available to you:
MRU Guide to Legal Citation - customized guide co-created by myself, and members of SLS. There are two online access points. A link to the pdf is available at the bottom of the Citations page on the library website, and the document is uploaded on the Citations tab on the Criminal Justice library subject guide (this guide).
Other universities have also published online resources adherent to McGill 10th edition that gives direction on how to cite Canadian law. I recommend the following:
Canadian Open Access Guide to Legal Citation (COAL) available on CanLII
*Always confirm with your instructor about how they would like you to treat Canadian legal citation, particularly in courses outside of CRJS!
Canadian guide to uniform legal citation = Manuel canadien de la référence juridiqueWhat are "primary sources" of law?
Case law (jurisprudence)
Statute law (legislation)
Infographic: How new laws are made in Canada (Government of Canada, 2021).
Why should we conduct legal research?
Note: It is recommended to always start with secondary material (articles, texts & treatises, digests) before you dive into primary research. Secondary resources help direct us to relevant laws and ground our understanding on key issues and events relating to primary law.
Caselaw Basics
Precedent/Stare Decisis - In common law jurisdictions, a precedent is a judicial decision that establishes a legal principle or rule that a court or other judicial body follows when deciding subsequent cases with similar facts. Stare decisis means to "stand by that decision". Principle that judges should apply previously binding decisions of their own jurisdictional court or higher courts. Example: R v Oakes, 1986 CanLII 46.
A precedent can be binding or persuasive. For example a case heard in Alberta is usually bound by decisions of similar nature also made in Alberta or at a higher court like the SCC, but can be persuaded by extra-jurisdictional decisions (BC or Ontario decisions or even foreign law).
To cite a case, generally, you need three pieces of information:
Style of cause is legal terminology for the parties involved.
If a case is R v Someone, that means you are looking at a criminal case. (R is the regnal name or the Queen or King; Regina or Rex). Because we live in a constitutional monarchy, if a person commits a crime, they have committed a crime against the Queen or King.
If you are looking at a case Someone v Someone, you are looking at a civil case.
Different language can be used to describe cases; jurisprudence, case law, judicial decisions, judgments etc. they all essentially mean the same thing.
Neutral Citations
Neutral citations are attributed to cases directly from the courts. They will always take the following format: Year, court, numeric order in which the case was heard. For example, R v Terrigno, 2008 ABPC 240 is the 240th case that was heard at the Alberta Provincial Court in 2008.
Parallel citations or case reporters are often also listed in addition to a neutral citation. These are published by a publishing company (normally issued as a serial in multiple volumes). They usually include a unique headnote, or paragraph summarizing the key points of the case, preceding the case. These headnotes differ, depending on the publisher which is why it is important to cite the version that you consulted.
McGill style stipulates that when citing a case, you should cite the neutral citation, followed by the reporter in which you consulted (if you consulted a reported version of the case. For the purposes of the program, you only need to cite one source, and it should be the version of the case that you have read.
MRU library doesn't subscribe to case reporters (and they are only available in select libraries in the city), so we generally do not have access to these resources, nor are they available online. The only publisher that also makes their case publicly available is the Supreme Court Reporter (SCR).
Generally, we can access case law in two places:
Therefore, you cite the neutral citation, or if it is an SCC case, you can use the SCR citation.
Example: R v Grant, 2009 SCC 32; [2009] 2 SCR 353 ***note square brackets indicate year of publication.
Headnotes - cases found in case reporters are preceded by a proprietary head note or summary. Cases on CanLII, with the exception of SCR judgements will not have a publishers headnote. Headnotes are like abstracts and should be used as a guide to understanding a case, rather than a substitute for reading the case!
If you ever need to figure out what an acronym for a reporter stands for, Cardiff Index to Legal Citation is a helpful resource.
When there is no neutral citation
Occasionally, there will be a CanLII citation in place of a neutral citation. CanLII's scope generally includes digitized jurisprudence beginning in the late 1990s. Sometimes there are requests to digitize cases that occurred earlier, especially if they are particularly significant to Canadian law. Use the CanLII citation when you cannot easily see a neutral citation. Example. R v Bernardo is probably one of the most notorious serial killer trials in Canada, so this case was later published by CanLII. You would cite this case as R v Bernardo, 1997 CanLII 2240.
Citing a Case
On your References List
Example: R v Pickton, 2010 SCC 32
Within your paper
Example: (R v Pickton, 2010 SCC 32 at para 56).
Subsequent citations in your paper (Pickton, at para 90).
Legislation Basics
Citation of Statutes
Revised Statutes - all laws in force at the date of their revision are cited to their chapter number at the time of the last revision (last federal revision was in 1985 and last AB provincial revision was in 2000). Example: Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46.
Annual statutes - all laws subsequent to the last revision are cited to the annual statute volume in which the law was passed. Example: Respect for Communities Act, SC 2015, c 2.
Continuing Consolidation - all laws are now online and updated in real time, but we still adhere to the printed citation practice.
To cite legislation, the following four pieces of information is required:
Again, with legislation, a variety of terms are applied (legislation, laws, statutes).
Statutes are sometimes referred to as enabling legislation.
The title is in italics eg: Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6.
The volume title abbreviation includes the jurisdiction and the year the publication year eg: eg: Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6.
The chapter number refers to the specific chapter number in which the statute has been assigned in the volume eg: Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6.
Periodically the federal and provincial governments unite all current laws in force as of a particular date. (In the print days, think of a set of volume books). These are referred to as Revised Statutes and Revised Regulations. The last time Alberta statutes were combined into a set was 2000, and the last time the federal government put together the Statutes of Canada was 1985.
Reminder - Statutes are also published in annual volumes eg: SA, or SC. These contain both new and amending statutes that have received royal assent within that year. These annual volumes also include acts that amend existing acts.
Eg: An Act to amend the Traffic Safety Act, SA 2005, c 34.
*If it is a new law that was created post-consolidation, you will cite it as an SA. If the law existed pre-consolidation, the amendment act will be incorporated in the existing act, and you can still cite the RSA. Sometimes annual statutes can amend a number of different laws.
Example of a law created since 2000.
**Unless you are doing historical legislation research, always cite the most current law.
Finding Legislation
There are a number of places to find legislation. Generally for this program, you will likely consult the following:
If you are looking for extra-provincial laws, Alberta Law Libraries has a great table with links.
If you are looking for foreign law or international law, NYU has a comprehensive guide.
Citing a Statute
On your References List
Example: Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46.
Within your paper
Example: (Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 320.19(1)(a)(ii) [Criminal Code]).
Subsequent occurrences within your paper after you have already cited it once: (Criminal Code, s 320.19(1)(a)(iii)).
Regulations Basics
Delegated by parliament to government. Sometimes referred to as subordinate legislation, delegated legislation, administrative enactments, statutory orders statutory instruments. Example.
To cite a regulation you need the following information:
Regulations are passed under the authority of an existing statute, hence statutes are referred to as enabling legislation, and regulations are referred to as subordinate legislation. They are also periodically consolidated.
The title is in italics.
To locate a regulation, the easiest way is to know the "enabling" statute".
Where to find regulations
Alberta Kings printer (provincial)
Federal Regulations
Federal regulations are also referred to as statutory orders (SOR) and are cited with the year they were filed and a number.
Eg: Approved Drug Screening Equipment Order, SOR/2018-179
Consolidated regulations of Canada (CRC) are cited with a chapter number and the last revision was in 1978. You will not likely need to cite these in the program.
Provincial Regulations
If a provincial regulation amends a federal act, it is cited as a statutory instrument (SI). In Alberta, provincial regulations can be cited as Alta Reg. or AR.
Example - Regulations under the Criminal Code click under the Regulations tab.
Citing a Regulation
On your Reference List
Example:
Provincial: Distracted Driving Regulation, Alta Reg 113/2011 OR Distracted Driving Regulation, AR/113/2011
Federal: Antique Firearms, Regulations Prescribing, SOR/98-464
Within your paper
Example: (Distracted Driving Regulation, AR/113/2011, s 5).
Subsequent occurrence in your paper if you have already cited it once: (AR/113/2011, s 5).
Quick Activity
Bills - Basic Information
In Canada, bills can be introduced by the government, by a minister, or a private member (detailed info availalbe here). A government bill is a written legislative initiative submitted to Parliament by the government for approval, and possibly for amendment, before becoming law. They are drafted by the Department of Justice and are introduced in either the Senate (numbered S-1 through S-200) or the House of Commons (numbered C1-C-200). In order for a bill to become law, it has to go through a number of very specific stages in both the Senate and House of Commons. These stages include:
To cite a bill, it is important to know what stage it is in or it has reached. You need the following information:
Note that the phrasing "assented to" is indicative of a provincial bill, and "as passed by the House of Commons" is indicative of a federal bill.
Royal Assent means the Senate and the House of Commons have both passed the bill in identical form and approves the bill to become law on behalf of the Queen.
‘Coming into Force’ is the date that the legislation, or part of it, becomes enforceable. Laws can come into force in several ways:
You will find information and copies of federal bills on the Parliament of Canada website (LegisInfo).
You will find information and copies of Alberta bills on the Legislative Assembly website.
Citing a Bill
Here is an example of the same bill cited at different stages
On your Reference page (Federal Bills):
Bill C-45, An Act Respecting Cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts, 1st Sess, 42 Parl (third reading 1 June 2018).
Bill C-45, An Act Respecting Cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code, and other Acts, 1st Sess, 42 Parl, 2018 (as passed by the House of Commons 21 June 2018).
**note, if you are citing a provincial Bill that has received royal assent, you would write "assented to", rather than "as passed by the House of Commons".
eg: Bill 5, Traffic Safety Amendment Act, 3rd Sess, 30th Leg, Alberta, 2022 (assented to 21 April 2022).
Within your essay:
Example: (Bill C-45, An Act Respecting Cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts, 1st Sess, 42 Parl, 2018, cl 5 (as passed by the House of Commons 21 June 2018).
Subsequent occurrences within your paper (Bill C-45, cl 20).
Quick Activity: What is the status of this bill?
Where did this bill originate?
Contact Madelaine, and she will help you!
If you need general citation support or help, please access the following resources:
Today's session aims to help you complete the W25 CanLII Assignment.. I will provide a detailed overview of CanLII that will help you develop skills in:
We will also complete a quick activity, and then I will review
Overview of CanLII
CanLII (The Canadian Legal Information Institute) is a freely available database powered and supported by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. Content focuses on Canadian primary law sources that include:
You can also search CanLII for secondary law sources or legal commentary using CanLII Connects (case summaries and commentaries) and CanLII Docs (books, journals, articles, reports and research papers). Please note that this isn't an exhaustive database (there are other subscription databases with quite a bit more content and value added features), but CanLII is a great start that is accessible to all Canadians.
Searching CanLII
Filter your results
Elements of a Case
Once you click on the case link, look at the following features
Elements of a Decision
Case decisions follow a consistent format. It begins with information that identifies the case, the parties involved (style of cause), the date, year and the court where it was heard. 
Note: some decisions there is a "headnote". This is indicative that that case you are reading comes from a case reporter rather from the court where the decision was rendered. Headnotes summarize the key facts and legal issues of the case. You will only see headnotes for SCC decisions on CanLII as this databases publishes SCC cases from the Supreme Court Reports (SCR), a case reporter.
Next...
The full analysis of the facts and legal issuesrelevant to the case leads to the "reasons" for the decision. Reasons are based on:
Note: Higher level courts (courts of appeal, Supreme Court of Canada, Federal Court) usually have a panel of judges. See the below SCC example of R v Nur, [2015] 1 SCR 773
Cases at appeal level courts may be written by one judge on behalf of the whole panel , or each judge may provide their individual reasons as to how they arrived at their decision. Dissenting opinions can be written by a judge if they disagree with the majority. For higher court decisions (SCC, FC, CA), the decision and the reasons are usually located near the beginning of the document. For lower courts (QB,PC), decisions are located at the end of the document.
Binding or Persuasive?
A precedent is binding when:
A precedent is persuasive when the above conditions are not met:
Finding a Statute in CanLII
Explore what cases have cited particular laws
Research the History of a Law
Finding Commentary
If you are looking for information related to a legal topic (very specific to jurisprudence or the Criminal Code for example), it is recommended that you run a search in CanLII in addition to MRU library. MRU library subscribes to many amazing databases that focus more on commentary from social scientists and criminologists. CanLII has a robust collection of legal commentary (lawyers, judges, students at law, and other members of the legal community). Most of the material in the Commentary section in CanLII are from legal academic journals. **But beware. Anyone who signs up for a Lexum account can add an article. Make sure you are looking at something reputable (eg: Law School Journal). Make sure you look at the author's credentials. Sometimes blog posts and student commentary is published on CanLII and although most of the time these are great resources, sometimes there are inaccuracies in the legal interpretation.
You will find information and copies of federal bills on the Parliament of Canada website (LegisInfo).
You will find information and copies of Alberta bills on the Legislative Assembly website.
**When searching for a federal bill using a bill number, you will need to indicate whether it is a House or Senate bill.
-Make sure you are looking at the right session (Bills start from 1 every time there is a new Parliamentary session or Legislature).
Group Exercise
Get into groups of 3-4 people. I will assign each group one of these questions on this shared Google Doc. Using what you have learned today, answer the questions as best as you can (and we will go over these together). Take 5-10 minutes.
**Please note that with the campus closure, the library is also closed with the exception of a select few study spaces and a computer lab that is accessible by card on the 1st floor. You can request print material and other physical items in advance and pick them up curbside.
Things to remember when using Library Search:
Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.
Use the pin icon to save books and articles.
Use the filters on the right. You will use Availability, Resource Type, and Date filters most often.
Some items won't be available. You can request unavailable items using interlibrary loan.
When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Get It or Full Text section to get the item.
You can search in a way to combine or omit different terms by telling the search engine exactly what you want…this can help you save some time (and frustration!)
Use quotation marks to keep phrases together - "care and control"
Use AND to combine search terms - Alberta AND "impaired driving"
Use OR to connect two or more similar terms - "driving while intoxicated" OR "impaired driving"
Use wild cards to substitute a letter or suffix with a symbol - Canad* (searches Canada, Canadian, Canadians)
Google Scholar is another great way to find peer-reviewed/scholarly material. Google scholar has a nifty citation chaining function. The Cited by function will forward you to indexed scholarly material that has cited an article that you may be interested in. The Related Articles link will direct you to similar articles that may have the same metadata or keywords.
The Advanced Search is found by clicking the menu icon (top left).
Besides providing links to articles in MRU databases, Google Scholar links to online repositories that contain articles the author has been allowed to upload. Academia.edu and ResearchGate are among the repositories searched by Google Scholar.
By clicking on the Settings icon, you can select library links to show library access for up to 5 libraries (type in Mount Royal and click on save). If you are logged into MRU library, links should automatically populate if you are running a Google search in another window.
Note: Google uses different commands: ~; -; +; but AND/OR also works
If you are searching Google (not Google Scholar), you can also limit your search to show specific websites. Eg:
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Not sure what some of these abbreviations mean? (What is the difference between DLR and SCR for example?). Cardiff offers the largest and most reliable online abbreviations guide. The online database focuses on caselaw reporters and law journals but also includes some other legal publications. Jurisdictional coverage for 295 countries or regions including the British Isles, Commonwealth countries, and the United States.
