Legal Research – Page 2 – Know How, the blog of the Great Library

Discovering the Evolution of Canada’s Court System

Have you ever wondered how Canada’s court system developed over time? Whether you’re a licensee, legal researcher, or law librarian, exploring the history and development of our legal institutions is both surprising and informative. To support your research, we’ve gathered a selection of our favourite reference tools – available online and at the Great Library – that chronicle the history of courts in Ontario and Canada. These resources are especially useful when researching historical legal decisions and seeking to understand how court names and structures have changed over time.

Sessional Papers – Federal and Ontario

Sessional Papers from the Federal and Ontario governments provide an interesting glimpse into the evolution of Canadian governance. They capture the policies, debates, and decisions of the time, making them a valuable resource for exploring legislative intent, especially behind historical statutes. In today’s blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the Great Library’s collection of Federal and Ontario Sessional Papers.

Treatise Finders (US Legal Research)

For Canadian legal practitioners, the need to research American law arises for a variety of reasons: client problems may involve U.S. business or real estate transactions, cross-border litigation, enforcement of judgments, or child custody and access. Researchers may also be looking for persuasive precedents on legal issues which have not been litigated in Canadian courts.