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26/09/2006

LAW COMMISSION OF CANADA RESPONDS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S DECISION TO ELIMINATE FUNDING

Ottawa, September 26, 2006. Yesterday, the President of the Law Commission of Canada, Yves Le Bouthillier, was informed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Vic Toews, of the government’s decision to eliminate the funding of the Law Commission. "It was my duty to relay this information to the ten staff members as well as the four commissioners", remarked the President. In the days to come, the Law Commission will communicate the news to the members of its Advisory Council, composed of twenty-one Canadians who represent the rich diversity of this country as well as its numerous partners that have contributed both financial and intellectual resources to the Commission’s work.

"Today," the President of the Commission said: "It is incumbent upon me to recognize the contribution to law reform in Canada by both current and former staff, advisory council members and commissioners. I want to acknowledge in particular the important role played by my two predecessors, Roderick A. Macdonald and Nathalie Des Rosiers. I am convinced that they would agree that the quality and calibre of the Law Commission’s work was achieved through the interest and support of countless Canadians who participated in the consultations." He also stated that "the Law Commission is very proud of its record of accomplishments, since its inception. Despite a budget that has remained the same since its creation in 1997, the Law Commission has been able to successfully complete significant work on societal issues in which law plays a key role." The Law Commission obtained additional financial resources through various partnerships such as the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Community Foundations of Canada.

During the last nine years, the Law Commission has tabled a number of reports in Parliament, each containing a series of recommendations for law reform:

  • In 2000, in response to a request from the Department of Justice, the Law Commission tabled a report aptly titled Restoring Dignity: Responding to Child Abuse in Canadian Institutions;
  • In 2002, Beyond Conjugality: Recognizing and supporting close personal adult relationships, recommended that Parliament re-examine the personal relationships between adults, extend rights and obligations beyond conjugal relationships, and remove restrictions on same sex marriage;
  • In 2003, Transforming Relationships Through Participatory Justice, has since inspired a provincial bar to adopt the Law Commission’s model as a plan of action;
  • In 2004, the Law Commission tabled its report Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for Canada, recommending mixed member proportionality. At the same time, it was completing two other reports, Leveraging Knowledge Assets, dealing with security interests in intellectual property, and Modernizing Canada’s Secured Transactions Law: The Bank Act Security Provisions, which deals with reforms to the Bank Act;
  • In July 2006, the Law Commission’s latest report, In Search of Security: The Future of Policing in Canada, proposes a strategy to better understand and deal with the complex relationships between public police and private security.

Until yesterday’s announcement, the Law Commission was pursuing its research program, nurturing partnerships with a host of entities and carrying out consultations on the following topics:

  • Globalization examines new tools of governance to enhance democracy, transparency and accountability given the increasing impact on Canadian law of norms adopted in international fora;
  • What is a Crime?reflects upon the definition of and response to crime and unwanted behaviour;
  • Indigenous Legal Traditions explores a framework for creating space and recognition of indigenous legal traditions;
  • Is Work Working? evaluates the various policy and regulatory options available to ensure adequate and appropriate support for the promotion of economic security of those engaged in work in the broad sense of the term;
  • Does Age Matter? looks at a possible framework to verify if age is the best criterion to provide benefits or impose restrictions in law;
  • Financing on Reserves address the issue of equitable access to financial resources for those living on First Nations reserves.

True to its unique multidisciplinary approach to law reform, the Law Commission of Canada has pursued its research on these topics, while maintaining its independence and transparency and consulting with experts and Canadians from all walks of life. These are the characteristics that set law reform agencies apart from other mechanisms. The ability of law reform bodies to examine both the legal and social implications of reform, to take a long-term view, to openly consult with the public and to bring politically-difficult topics into the open for debate are reasons often given for the establishment of such agencies.

Following the federal government’s decision to eliminate funding of the Law Commission of Canada, the President summed up the situation as follows: "Two days ago, I believed the Law Commission could, as it had done for the past nine years, contribute to these issues in a significant manner. Today, the Commission is not in a position to comment on how the work already undertaken will be pursued. The only certainty is that in a not too distant future, it will be in the interest of all Canadians to find new ways to address these important issues."

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For further information:
Lorraine Pelot
Acting Executive Director
(613) 946-8975
lpelot@lcc.gc.ca


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