Canada's legal system

Two legal regimes operate in Canada: common law and civil law. Civil law applies in the province of Quebec, and common law applies in the other provinces and territories.

Quebec's civil law is codified. A Civil Code was first enacted in 1866, based on the French Code Napoléon or Civil Code. It contained a comprehensive statement of rules and general principles. A new Civil Code was enacted in 1991 and has been in force since 1994. Courts in Quebec first look to the Code and then refer to previous decisions for consistency and guidance.

In provinces and territories under the common law regime, courts look first to any legislation that may have been enacted, and then to previous decisions. In the absence of legislation, judges interpret the common law for guiding future decisions.

Despite these differences, both common law and the Civil Code of Quebec are adapting to meet new challenges and issues facing the Canadian legal system. Common law continually changes with new precedents being set by judgments rendered by the courts, and the Civil Code has already been amended a number of times since 1998.

Aboriginal peoples in Canada also make contributions to our legal system. The Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS) was announced in 1996 to address the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system and to respond to the desire of Aboriginal communities to have greater control over the administration of justice.

Although the original plan was to end the initiative in March 2001, the Strategy was renewed for a further five years. In 2001/02, the AJS committed approximately $6.4 million to support 90 programs across the country that provide services to about 280 communities.

The Strategy seeks to increase the participation of Aboriginal communities in their justice system and to reflect Aboriginal values in the mainstream system. These objectives are achieved by helping Aboriginal communities develop and administer programs in the areas of community sentencing circles, mediation in civil matters and dispute resolution mechanisms.

Emerging from this initiative are programs like the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and the Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba. These community-based programs are designed as an alternative way of addressing family matters such as child protection and child welfare outside the regular Child and Family Service system. Another program, the First Nations Family Justice Project, aims to bring together family, extended family, community members, elders and community service providers in the resolution of child protection concerns through the use of family mediators.

By placing a high priority on core values of fairness, tolerance and equality, the Aboriginal Justice Strategy is one way in which Canada's justice system is more accessible and relevant to Aboriginal communities.