ARCHIVED - LAC Forum on Canadian Democracy

LAC Collection on Politics and Government

Justice

Archival Collection about Justice

Government of Canada

The Department of Justice is the body that provides legal service to the Government of Canada and oversees the administration of the Canadian system of justice. Series of particular interest within this fonds are:

• Department of Justice fonds
• The Operational records of the Legislation Section
• The Central registry
• Legal opinion and material of precedential value
• The Legal Branch
• Capital punishment case files sub-series

LAC holds records of some Ministers of Justice, for example:

• John Turner fonds, Justice series
• Kim Campbell fonds, Minister of Justice series

The Office of the Solicitor General was created in 1892 to assist the Minister of Justice. In 1966, it became the Department of the Solicitor General, with responsibility for corrections and law enforcement in Canada.

• Solicitor General Secretariat fonds

For records documenting the evolution of the penal system in Canada, see:

• Correctional Service of Canada fonds

Supreme Court of Canada

LAC holds a rich body of records generated by the Supreme Court of Canada, including all case files of the Supreme Court.

• Supreme Court of Canada fonds
• The Case files series

LAC also holds the private records of justices and chief justices, many of whom were instrumental in the development of the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the establishment of the Supreme Court of Canada as the final court of appeal in this country. Selected private records:

• Sir William Buell Richards fonds
• Fonds Charles Fitzpatrick
• Lyman Poore Duff fonds
• Fonds Thibodeau Rinfret
• Bora Laskin fonds
• Brian Dickson fonds
• Fonds Antonio Lamer
• Fonds Jean Beetz
• Willard Zebedee Estey fonds
• William R. McIntyre fonds
• Gerald le Dain fonds
• Fonds Claire L'Heureux-Dubé
• Gérard V. La Forest fonds
• John Sopinka fonds
• Fonds Charles Doherty Gonthier
• Peter deCarteret Cory fonds
• Fonds Michel Bastarache

Military justice

Courts martial are the legal bodies with the authority to conduct trials for military offences. LAC has Courts martial records documenting the proceedings of trials during the First World War. This collection may be searched online in LAC's Courts-Martial of the First World War database.

Independent institutions

Active from 1971 to 1992, the Law Reform Commission was the predecessor body to the Law Commission of Canada. The records in this fonds include those maintained by the Law Reform Commission and its predecessors.

• Law Reform Commission of Canada fonds (1970-1992)

The Law Commission of Canada existed between 1997 and 2006 with the mandate of studying and providing systematic review of Canadian law and its effect, and in so doing produced discussion papers, research studies, joint publications and reports to Parliament. Processing of these records is incomplete and access may be restricted.

• Law Commission of Canada fonds (1997-2006)

Published and Digitized Resources about Justice

Published Materials

As a national catalogue, AMICUS not only shows the published materials held at Library and Archives Canada but also those located in over 1300 libraries across Canada. AMICUS contains over 30 million records for books, magazines, newspapers, government documents, theses, sound recordings, maps, electronic texts, as well as items in braille and large print.

Using the Advanced Search option in AMICUS and selecting "Publication Type", you can limit your search to "Government publications – Federal/national" or "Government publications – State, prov., terr. etc." You can also narrow your search by language and date, as well as format. Specifying "Web documents" in the latter will limit the search to full-text electronic publications.

Here re some sample Subject Keyword searches:

• Canada. Dept. of Justice
• Canada. Solicitor General
• Canada. Correctional Service
• Justice, Administration of – Canada
• Canada. Supreme Court
• Judges – Canada
• Military law – Canada
• Courts-martial – Canada
• Canada. Law Reform Commission
• Canada. Law Commission

Database

Courts-martial of the First World War
This online database provides access to records of individual courts martial. These records document charges under the Army Act and the trial itself. Many courts martial records include formal rulings about the legal proceedings by the Judge Advocate General, who is the senior officer responsible for overseeing military justice.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/courts-martial/index-e.html

Web Exhibitions

ARCHIVED - The Anti-Slavery Movement in Canada
In 2001, at the invitation of the J'Nikira Dinqinesh Education Centre, the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada, now Library and Archives Canada, commemorated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada in 1851 with this exhibition based on the collections of the two institutions.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/anti-slavery/index-e.html

ARCHIVED - Building a Just Society: A Retrospective of Canadian Rights and Freedoms
A Web exhibition created to mark the 25th anniversary in 2007 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The exhibition features essays by a group of distinguished contributors, including the Hon. Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache, the Hon. Peter Lougheed, George Elliott Clarke, Irshad Manji, Julius Grey, and Severn Cullis-Suzuki.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rights-and-freedoms/index-e.html

The Famous Five
While commemorating this major step in women's entrance into political life in Canada, this exhibition is aimed at promoting awareness of five famous Alberta women and highlighting their role in the admission of women to the Senate.
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/206/301/lac-bac/famous_five-ef/www.lac-bac.gc.ca/famous5/index-e.html

ARCHIVED - Under a Northern Star
Under a Northern Star presents seven unique collections held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) that document the diverse historical experience of African Canadians. The collections include historical papers that contextualize the life and work of persons who fought against slavery and racism, built settlements, and flourished as early Canadians.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/northern-star/index-e.html

Further research

Abortion (Thematic Guide)
This guide consists of specific archival references relating to abortion in Canada.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1142.02-e.html

Anti-slavery Issues in Canada, 1830-1870: A Selective Bibliography
The following is a list of materials held by Library and Archives Canada on the anti-slavery movement in Canada between approximately 1830 and 1870.
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/lac-bac/anti-slavery-ef/2/22/index-e.html

Canadian Legal and Constitutional Information
This is a selective collection of links maintained by Library and Archives Canada to both official and non-official Web sites providing access to primary legal materials (legislation and case law) as well as secondary materials such as research guides.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1130-e.html

Foreign Legal and Constitutional Information
This is a selective collection of links maintained by Library and Archives Canada to both official and non-official Web sites providing access to primary legal materials (legislation and case law) as well as secondary materials such as research guides.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1140-e.html

Organized Crime in Canada After 1945 and Immigration Records (Thematic Guide)
This guide consists of general and specific references to government immigration records relating to organized crime in Canada after 1945.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1142.13-e.html