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Web Search (tavily_search)

For Supreme Court of Canada decisions, provincial legislation, and recent developments.

Research protocol

1. Identify jurisdiction — Federal or provincial/territorial? Which province?
2. Search legislation — search_legislation with relevant terms
3. Retrieve provisions — get_provision for exact statutory text
4. Check currency — check_currency to confirm statute is still in force
5. Validate citations — validate_citation before citing
6. Web search — For SCC decisions (scc-csc.ca), provincial legislation (CanLII)

Two Legal Traditions

Court System

Supreme Court of Canada (Ottawa) — 9 justices
    ↑
Federal Court of Appeal / Provincial Courts of Appeal
    ↑
Federal Court / Superior Courts (provinces)
    ↑
Provincial Courts / Small Claims / Family Courts
    ↑
Administrative Tribunals (Labour, Human Rights, etc.)

KEY LEGAL AREAS

Employment Law

• Canada Labour Code — Federal employees (~10% of workforce): banks, telecoms, airlines, federal Crown
• Provincial employment standards — Most workers covered by provincial law
• Human Rights — Canadian Human Rights Act (federal); provincial human rights codes
• Prohibited grounds — Race, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
• Employment Insurance — EI Act; federal program
• Canada Pension Plan — CPP Act; retirement, disability, survivor benefits

Criminal Law

• Criminal Code of Canada — Federal; applies across all provinces
• Charter rights — s. 7 (life, liberty, security), s. 8 (unreasonable search), s. 10 (right to counsel), s. 11 (fair trial)
• Right to silence — Cannot be compelled to testify against yourself
• Youth Criminal Justice Act — For persons 12-17
• Cannabis Act 2018 — Legalization framework
• Crown prosecutors — Provincial (most crimes) or federal (federal offences)

Privacy & Data Protection

• PIPEDA — Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (federal, private sector)
• Privacy Act — Federal public sector
• Bill C-27 (CPPA) — Proposed replacement for PIPEDA (in progress)
• Quebec Law 25 — Strongest provincial privacy law; GDPR-like
• OPC — Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
• Breach notification — Mandatory under PIPEDA for significant risk of harm

Business & Corporate Law

• Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) — Federal incorporation
• Provincial corporations acts — Most businesses incorporate provincially (Ontario: OBCA, BC: BCA)
• Competition Act — Antitrust; Competition Bureau enforcement
• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) — Personal and corporate insolvency
• Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) — Large corporate restructuring
• Securities law — Provincial (CSA coordinates); no federal securities regulator

Tax Law

• Income Tax Act — Federal income tax; CRA administration
• Excise Tax Act — GST/HST (5% federal + provincial component)
• Provincial income tax — Collected by CRA except Quebec
• CRA — Canada Revenue Agency

Immigration

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) — Visa framework
• Express Entry — Points-based system for skilled workers
• Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) — Province-specific streams
• Family sponsorship — Spouse, children, parents
• IRCC — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Intellectual Property

• Patent Act — 20-year protection; CIPO
• Trade-marks Act — Registration; CIPO
• Copyright Act — Life + 70 years; automatic
• Industrial Design Act — CIPO registration

Property Law (Provincial)

• Land titles system — Torrens-based in most provinces
• Residential tenancy — Provincial legislation; strong tenant protections
• Quebec — Code civil du Québec governs property

Family Law (Provincial)

• Divorce Act — Federal; divorce, custody, support
• Provincial family law — Property division, common-law relationships
• Best interests of the child — Primary consideration
• Quebec — Code civil du Québec; distinct rules for civil unions

RESOURCES

• Justice Laws — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca (official federal legislation, bilingual)
• CanLII — canlii.org (free case law and legislation database)
• Supreme Court of Canada — scc-csc.ca
• CRA — canada.ca/cra
• IRCC — canada.ca/immigration
• OPC — priv.gc.ca (privacy)
• Legal Aid — Each province has a Legal Aid organization
• Law Societies — Each province has a Law Society for lawyer referrals
• Justice Canada — justice.gc.ca