Category Journalism

Nationwide Judicial databases:

• Canlii Search Canada-wide databases or by province. The best place to start.
• Check out their advanced search feature which allows you to search the courts you want in the provinces you want
• Canlii en français avec un moteur de recherche avancée

By province (east to west):

Nova Scotia:
(via Canlii.org)

• Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
• Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
• Supreme Court of Nova Scotia – Family
• Provincial Court of Nova Scotia

New Brunswick:
(via Canlii.org)

• Court of Appeal of New Brunswick
• Court of Queen’s Bench
• Provincial Court
• All NB courts

Français:

• Tous les tribunaux
• Cour du Banc de la Reine
• Cour d’appel
• Cour Provinciale

Quebec:

3 ways to search/Trois façons pour faire la recherche:

1. Sites officiels:

L’avantage – c’est gratuit.
Le désavantage — on peut chercher seulement par date et non par nom ou mot clef.

• Tribunaux du Québec Des jugements pour les tribinaux suivants:
• Cour d’appel
• Cour supérieure
• Cour du Québec
• Tribunal du travail
• Tribunal des professions
• Tribunal des droits de la personne
• Comité de déontologie policière
• Commission des lésions professionnelles (CLP)
• Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ)
• Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ)
• Commission de reconnaissance des associations d’artistes et des associations
• de producteurs (CRAAAP)
• Tribunal administratif du Québec (TAQ)
• Tribunal d’arbitrage [artistes] (TAA)

2. Soquij:

L’avantage – les dossiers les plus complets, y compris les dossiers crimminels.
Le désavantage — ce n’est pas gratuit.

• Azimut – Plumitifs Les dossiers judiciaires.  Cliquez ici pour les instructions
• Quebec Criminal and court records    Subscription fee required. This is the only province that puts actual criminal records online, not just court decisions. Click on “Plumitifs” when you get to the web site, but you must register first and there is a fee. Click here for instructions in French.

3. ICIJ Quebec:

En français:

Avantage: Gratuit et on peut faire la recherche à travers plusieurs tribunaux en même temps

• Tous les tribunaux du Québec ensemble
• Tous les tribunaux du Canada

  Ou par tribunal:

• Cour d’appel
• Cour supérieure
• Cour du Québec
• Tribunal des droits de la personne

Advantage: You can search several courts at once; and it’s free

En anglais:

• Search all Quebec courts
  Or:
• Search Quebec Court of Appeal
• Search Superior Court
• Seach Court of Quebec
• Search Human Rights Tribunal

Manitoba:

• Manitoba Court registry  [See instructions below for detailed use]

Saskatchewan:

• Saskatchewan Law Society Full text of Court of Appeal and other court decisions going back to 1994

Alberta:

• Alberta courts

British Columbia:

Official court sites:

• BC Superior courts    Click on Search JDB
• Supreme Court
• BC Provincial courts You can search decisions from 1999

Via Canlii: [Fastest, most efficient way]

• All BC courts
• Search Supreme Court and Court of Appeal Search them together
• Search only Supreme Court From 1995 on
• Search only Court of Appeal From 1996 on

Ontario:

Two ways of searching:

1. Search via Canlii/IICJ

• Canlii listing of Ontario courts (Search two courts at once – Appeal and Superior)
• IICJ – Tribunaux Ontario en français

2. Or go directly to each court website:

• Superior Court Search [Recherche en français]
  Click here for the Main Page for Court [En francais]
• Court of Appeal Search Page   [Not available in French]
  Click here for Main Page for Court [En francais]

See also main Ontario court page: (for other informnation)

• English
• En français

Other legal links

• Supreme Court of Canada
• JNet’s Canadian Legal News Page

Instructions on using the Manitoba court page
(provided by CBC’s Melanie Verhaeghe )

1) On the first screen, click on court registry.
2) On the second screen, on the left hand side, click on Name Search (assuming you don’t know file numbers and are searching to see if the company or person you are researching has any lawsuits on-going).
Also, this page will tell you what court records are available.
3) On third screen, enter company name or person’s last name in the Surname/company space. In Given name slot, use the person’s full name but I would suggest you also search using the person’s first name initial only. Sometimes names are spelled wrong, or off by a few letters. Also, if nothing comes up, try different spellings of the last name (humans enter the names, so mistakes happen)..
Also, some codes you’ll see on the pages:
QB – Queen’s Bench
CR – criminal
CI – civil
SC – Small claim
FD – family division
File numbers will look like this: CI-00-01-18547
The CI – means civil lawsuit, 00 – means the year ie. 2000, the 01 and the 18547 are locators for the file clerks.
4) Under the search results page: you will get a list of results, the file numbers are on the left hand side. And they should appear in highlighted green. Click on the file number. Unfortunately, the file contents (reasons for the lawsuit) are not on-line, but at least it will tell you who is suing who. And it will most often tell you who the lawyers are (and if they’re highlighted green) then you can click on it, and get the phone number and address of the lawyer. DE- means defendant, PL – plaintiff.

– For full file details, the lawyers will often provide that for you, or you have to go to the court house with the file number and ask to see it on the main level of the York Avenue court in Winnipeg. They are all public info.. You can read them, photocopy them, but you can’t leave the building with them.