Open Government Portal

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: respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples, and making
decisions consistent with Canadian values. The important litigation positions highlighted below were taken in collaboration with the Minister with policy responsibility for the matter before the courts.

Table of Contents
5-Introduction
6-7 Respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
8-11 Recognizing the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
13-14 Making Decisions Consistent with Canadian Values

The Litigation Year in Review for 2017 is the second time that the Attorney General of Canada published a report on the litigation decisions and strategies used on behalf of the Government of Canada. This year’s report highlights some of the litigation positions we took in the course of 2017 and focuses on four main themes: compensating for past wrongs, maintaining our commitment to human rights and the Charter, defending our national security, and intervening before the courts in the public interest. These themes are situated within a greater narrative around: 150th anniversary of Confederation, the 35th of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the 35th anniversary of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and its recognition of the rights of Indigenous People’s. the litigation year in review also concerns itself with protecting national security, and making sure Canadians are aware that their rights are protected and not subject to the whims of the government that is in power.

In 2018, the Attorney General was responsible for representing the federal government in approximately 36,000 litigation matters. In the fulfillment of her mandate letter commitments, the Attorney General carried out her litigation responsibilities with a particular focus on the following:

• Advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
• Defending federalism
• Respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Protecting public safety and national security
• Cracking down on tax avoidance

This report presents findings on the representation and outcomes of Indigenous people as accused in Canadian criminal courts. This is the first time that national statistics on Indigenous accused in criminal courts are reported in Canada. This study addresses four key objectives:

Identify whether the criminal court process itself contributes to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system (CJS);

Identify disproportionality in court outcomes of Indigenous accused, compared to White accused, at key stages/decision points of the criminal court process;

Identify whether other sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex and age group) affect the level of disproportionate outcomes experienced by Indigenous people at key stages/decision points of the criminal court process; and,

Identify areas that warrant further exploration and data development. This study was a collaborative effort between the Research and Statistics Division at the Department of Justice Canada and the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada.

Parks Canada recognizes the historic and ongoing responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples in the stewardship of natural and cultural heritage of their traditional territories. This indicator enables monitoring of Parks Canada’s implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Source: Indicator Explanation/Rationale

This audit focused on whether Indigenous Services Canada provided sufficient personal protective equipment, nurses, and paramedics to Indigenous communities and organizations in a co‑ordinated and timely manner in order to protect Indigenous peoples against COVID‑19.

The Indigenous agreements dataset contains geographic boundaries as well as basic attribute data representing arrangements between the Government of Canada, provinces and territories, and Indigenous organizations and communities. These arrangements address Indigenous and northern affairs, such as education, economic development, child and family services, health, and housing, that have not been addressed by treaties or through other means. However, this dataset only contains the Indigenous agreements that have a geographic boundary. The Indigenous agreements dataset includes:

1) Self-government agreements which represents the Indigenous groups that govern their internal affairs and assume greater responsibility and control over the decision making that affects their communities.

This paper provides an overview of the Supreme Court of Canada's findings in its December 20, 2013 Bedford decisions and explains the basis for the Government's legislative response: Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, which received Royal Assent on November 6, 2014 (S.C. 2014, c.25).

In Bedford, the Supreme Court of Canada declared unconstitutional three Criminal Code offences addressing prostitution-related conduct on the basis that they violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”). Section 7 protects the rights to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.

The Indigenous Advisory Committee provides the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) with expert advice for the development of key policy and guidance on the new impact assessment system. Nominations for the Committee were sought from August 21 to October 7, 2018. Members were selected in April 2019. The Committee's membership is made up of First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals.

This report was independently prepared by Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
and First Peoples Group. The purpose is to provide a summary of the Indigenous Gathering at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit, including the planning efforts, the proceedings and the views shared during the Gathering. This publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Centre, First
Peoples Group or the Government of Canada.