Strengthening human rights, governance & rule of law

To enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions, we reviewed the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, culminating in the passage of Bill C-58.

We also modernized the regulatory and legislative framework for the charitable and not-for-profit sectors by clarifying the rules for non-partisan political activities and the development of public policy under the Income Tax Act (Bill C-86).

To keep Canadians well informed, we are providing open access to information where feasible:

• Charterpedia provides the public with legal information on various rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• Amendments to the Department of Justice Act requiring that the Minister of Justice table a Charter statement in Parliament for every government bill.
  • Charter statements set out a bill’s potential effects on Canadians’ rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Charter.
  • The Minister has already tabled 25 Charter Statements.
  • They are available on the Department of Justice website.
• We are participating in Open Government by making this information about Canada’s criminal justice system easier to access through our State of the Criminal Justice System Report and Dashboard.
• We regularly share information with Canadians through proactive disclosure of travel and hospitality expenses for selected government officials, information on grants and contributions, and information on contracts entered into by the Department for amounts over $10,000, among other information.

It has been more than 20 years since our family laws underwent significant amendments. We have worked diligently over the past few years to modernize Canada’s family justice system to make it more relevant, accessible, and efficient.

• Bill C-78 puts the best interests of children first, help alleviate child poverty, and addresses family violence.
• Through the Canadian Family Justice Fund, the Department continues to support access to appropriate services for families experiencing separation and divorce.
• The Department supported the expansion of Unified Family Courts in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador by providing $77.2 million over four years, beginning in 2019–20, and an ongoing $20.8 million per year thereafter.
• The Department acted to maintain and strengthen access to justice in the official language of one’s choice, particularly in relation to family justice and divorce, by securing funding of $21.6 million over five years beginning in 2020–21.
• We have modernized the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings’ operations in order to improve service delivery and streamline processes.

Medical assistance in dying legislation (Bill C-14) was passed, giving some Canadian adults the choice of a medically assisted death. The framework protects vulnerable persons while providing options to make an informed decision about end of life.

Gender identity and expression are now prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code amendments (Bill C-16), which strengthen legal protections for transgender and gender-diverse Canadians.

The Policy on the Modernization of the Government of Canada’s Sex and Gender Information Practices, which we co-developed, was launched in April 2019. This policy modernizes the collection, use, and display of sex and gender information.

We worked with the Department of Canadian Heritage to reinstate a modernized Court Challenges Program. This program provides financial support to bring cases of national significance related to constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and human rights before the courts.

We orchestrated Canada’s agreement of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in December 2018.

The Department has acted to reform the judicial appointment processes for the Supreme Court of Canada and the superior courts to ensure that they are transparent, gender-balanced, and reflect Canada’s diversity.

• Two new Supreme Court of Canada justices were appointed under the new process, with a third process under way.
• New independent Judicial Advisory Committees were created to provide recommendations on superior court judicial appointments.
• Over 300 judges have been appointed across Canada. These include increased representation from diverse and historically under-represented populations.

78 new judicial positions were created across Canada to respond to the needs of Canadians and the courts, including 39 new positions for the expansion of Unified Family Courts. These courts emphasize constructive resolutions and benefit from the support of specialized family justice services focused on achieving lasting and timely outcomes for families.

We engaged in discussions with key stakeholders, publishing a discussion paper on judicial conduct reform, with a view to making judicial conduct proceedings more open, transparent, efficient, fair, and cost-effective.