Browse "Law Enforcement"

Abduction, literally leading away, historically meant the seizure of a wife from her husband, or a female infant or heiress from her parent or lawful guardian, for marriage, concubinage or prostitution.

An advance directive (sometimes referred to as a "living will") is a legal mechanism which enables individuals to plan for their own incapacity, and specifically for the situation where decisions have to be taken with respect to their health care after they are no longer mentally capable of making (or communicating) these decisions personally.

Federal agricultural policy is intended to serve national economic and political goals as well as the interests of those directly involved in and affected by Canadian agriculture - primarily producers, food processors, distributors, retailers and consumers.

Aid to (or of) the Civil Power, the calling out of military troops by the civil authorities to help maintain or restore public order.

Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism (Alberta Culture until 1987). Department established in 1975 by the government of the province of Alberta.

The term "burglary" no longer names a Criminal Code offence, although the activities formerly so labelled remain crimes. Burglary and related activities were recognized as offences early in the development of English COMMON LAW.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on October 25, 2004. Partner content is not updated.

Canadian citizenship was first created in 1947 by the Canadian Citizenship Act. Today's version of the law says both Canadian-born and naturalized citizens are equally entitled to the rights of a citizen, and subject to the duties of a citizen. In 2014, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act brought about the first significant amendments to the Citizenship Act since 1977. However, these changes were repealed or amended by legislation passed in 2017.

In pre-Confederation Canada, hundreds of criminal offences were punishable by death. By 1865, only murder, treason and rape were still considered capital offences. In 1962, Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas were the last of 710 prisoners to be executed in Canada since 1859. After 1976, the death penalty was permitted only for members of the Armed Forces found guilty of cowardice, desertion, unlawful surrender, or spying for the enemy. The federal government completely abolished state executions in 1998.

It has been a long time since a Canadian government tried to force the auto industry to improve fuel efficiency. The energy crisis scares of the 1970s were still fresh memories when Pierre Trudeau's Liberals passed the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act in 1982.

Carbon pricing plans impose a cost on the combustion of fossil fuels by industries and consumers — either directly through a tax, or indirectly through a cap-and-trade system. In a market economy like Canada’s, prices help regulate the supply and demand of goods and services. By influencing the price of a commodity like gasoline, through carbon pricing, governments aim to discourage its use and thereby reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that result from its consumption.

In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a national climate-change policy that included a system of carbon pricing across Canada. As of 2020, nine provinces and territories have carbon pricing plans that meet the requirements of the national policy. In the remaining provinces — Alberta, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario — Ottawa has imposed its own carbon tax. The tax has vocal opponents on the political right, including some premiers and party leaders.

Censorship is the exercise of prior governmental control over what can be printed, published, represented or broadcast. Soon after the invention of the printing press, the English CROWN resorted to various censorship controls.

Child welfare in Canada refers to a system of children's aid societies established by provincial and territorial governments, at times in partnership with private organizations, to provide services that supplement or substitute for parental care and supervision.

In Canada, political and law-making power is shared by the provincial and federal levels of government, as set out in the constitution. Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the provincial governments the exclusive jurisdiction to make laws governing education.

As he prepared to deal with mounting criticism of his government's handling of national unity issues and last week's cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien spoke to Ottawa Editor Anthony Wilson-Smith.

In the area of health care and health law, one of the basic legal rights which all Canadians have is the right to make decisions respecting their own health care.

Competition policy refers to legislation used by the federal government to eliminate privately imposed restraints on trade and to encourage competition.

The duty which requires physicians to keep the information they receive from their patients confidential is well established in Canadian common law, health care legislation and professional codes of conduct.

Conflict of interest may be defined as a situation in which politicians and public servants have an actual or potential interest (usually financial) that may influence or appear to influence the conduct of their official duties (see PATRONAGE; CORRUPTION).

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment or “call up” (sometimes known as “the draft”) of citizens for military service. The federal government enacted conscription in both the First World War and the Second World War, creating sharp divisions between English-speaking Canadians, who tended to support the practice, and French-speaking Canadians, who generally did not. Canada does not currently have mandatory military service.