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Legal Dictionaries / Words & Phrases

Legal dictionaries and Words and Phrases can help you research the meaning of legal terms and the legal interpretation of legal words and phrases. This can help when you’re trying to interpret a statute for which there is no clear case law or if you’re trying to discern the meaning of a word in a key legal document, such as a contract or a will.

Legal Dictionaries

If you need to know the meaning of a legal word, use a legal dictionary. Legal dictionaries are available online and in print:

• Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • In print on the reference desk
  • In print in the reference section
• Dictionary of Canadian Law
  • In print on the reference desk
• Black's Law Dictionary (American)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only
    • Go to Westlaw US via the International tab and start typing the title
  • In print on the reference desk

Words & Phrases

Words and phrases differ from dictionaries, as they show what the courts have said about a particular term. A words and phrases source will show how courts in different jurisdictions (federal, provincial, international) have defined this term. Online words and phrases include links to these cases so you can see the definition in context.

There are a few words and phrases to choose from:

• Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • In print in the reference section
• Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Sanagan's Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases
  • In print on the reference desk

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.

There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.

Another legal encyclopedia is JurisClasseur Quebec, which covers Quebec law and is in French only.

Electronically, CED is available in Westlaw Edge, while Halsbury's and JurisClasseur are available in Lexis+/Lexis Advance Quicklaw.

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful titles include:
  • Hospitals and Health Care
  • Hospitals (Western) (not available in print)
  • Medicine (Western) (not available in print)
  • Public Health and Welfare
• How to start your research with the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (5:58)

Halsbury's Laws of Canada

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful titles include:
  • Medicine and Health
  • Mental Health
  • Public Health
• Halsbury's Laws of Canada - Lexis Advance Quicklaw (1:45)

JurisClasseur Quebec

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)

Books & eBooks

To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, Hans W. Klohn, and Law libraries.

Items shown as LAW-RESERVE may be requested at the circulation desk on the first floor of the Law Library. Bring the book's call number with you to the desk. Items shown as LAW-STACKS are on the second floor, and LAW-REF materials are on the first floor in the reference section.

The following books may be helpful:

• Canadian Health Law and Policy, 5th edition, by Joanna N. Erdman, Vanessa Gruben & Erin Nelson, eds. LAW-STACKS KF3821 .C36 2017.
• Canadian Health Law Practice Manual by Mary Jane Dykeman. LAW-RESERVE KF3821 .A6 C36 2000.
• Health Care and the Charter: Legal Mobilization and Policy Change in Canada by Christopher P. Manfredi & Antonia Maioni. LAW-STACKS KF3605 .M36 2018.
• Health Law at the Supreme Court of Canada by Elaine Gibson & Jocelyn Downie. LAW-STACKS KF3821 .H43 2007 and eBook.
• Introduction to Health Law in Canada by Lorian Hardcastle. LAW-STACKS KF3821 .H37 2019.
• Law and Mind: Mental Health Law and Policy in Canada by Jennifer A. Chandler & Colleen M. Flood, eds. LAW-STACKS KF3828 .L35 2016.
• Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 4th edition, by Tracey M. Bailey, C. Tess Sheldon & Jacob J. Shelley, eds. LAW-STACKS KF3775 .ZA2 P83 2019.

Journal Articles & Databases

If you already know the journal title, year, volume number and page number for an article, you may be able to access it electronically by searching for the journal's title in the UNB e-journals database. If we have the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.

Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text database. An index is essentially a list of articles by topic. Sometimes the article will be available full-text, but often you'll just be given a citation that you can use to track it down somewhere else.

Key Legal Databases:

• Index to Canadian Legal Literature
  • Available via Lexis+ (non-law UNB/STU use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
  • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
• LegalTrac
• Lexis+ (non-law students use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click Articles and Newsletters
• HeinOnline
  • Click Law Journal Library
• Social Sciences Research Network  (SSRN) (for pre-prints and white papers)

Non-Law Databases:

Legislation & Case Law

Key Databases

The following databases and websites provide both legislation and case law:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII

Legislation

• LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
  • Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
• New Brunswick Acts and Regulations (NB Attorney General)
• GALLOP Portal
  • Searches electronic government documents from Legislative libraries in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, and Québec
• Justice Laws (federal legislation)
• LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
  • Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
• New Brunswick Acts and Regulations (NB Attorney General)
  • Includes current legislation, rules of court, the Royal Gazette, the status of bills, and more

Specific Statutes

The following statutes might be helpful. For other statutes not listed, search the databases listed above.

Federal:

• Assisted Human Reproduction Act, SC 2004, c 2.
• Canada Health Act, RSC 1985, c C-6.
• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5.

New Brunswick:

• Coroners Act, RSNB 1973, c C-23.
• Enduring Powers of Attorney Act, SNB 2019, c 30.
• Health Services Act, RSNB 2014, c 112.
• Hospital Act, SNB 1992, c H-6.
• Human Tissue Gift Act, RSNB 2014, c 113.
• Medical Act, SNB 1981, c 87.
• Medical Services Payment Act, RSNB 1973, c M-7.
• Mental Health Act, RSNB 1973, c M-10.
• Nurses Act, SNB 1984, c 71.
• Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act, SNB 2009, c P-7.05.
• Public Health Act, SNB 1998, c P-22.4.
• Regional Health Authorities Act, RSNB 2011, c 217.
• Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, SNB 2009, c R-10.6.

Cases and Decisions

Along with searching the databases listed above, you can find case law on the following websites:

• Supreme Court of Canada Cases
• Federal Court of Canada Cases
• New Brunswick Court Index (Justice and Public Safety)
• New Brunswick Courts

Cases Digests

Along with searching the databases above, you should use a case digest to find case law. Case digests index cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your topic, saving you hours of research time.

Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.

Canadian Abridgment Digests

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful topics include:
  • Health Law
  • Privacy and Freedom of Information
• How to start your research with the Canadian Abridgment Digests (5:39)
• How to search the Canadian Abridgment Digests (4:33)

Canada Digest

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Helpful topics include:
  • Canada Health Law Digest
• Canada Digest – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (2:09)

Government Documents

Government departments and agencies publish a great deal of important law-related information. The Law Library's collection of printed government documents is located on the library's third floor. Use UNB WorldCat to search, or ask a library staff member for help.

The Harriet Irving Library also has government documents, which can be located through UNB WorldCat.

For government documents that are available online, try using UNB Libraries' Government Documents Search.

Note: if you include site:canada.ca (and/or site:gc.ca) and filetype:pdf in a Google search, you will retrieve PDF documents from Government of Canada websites. This is a good way to find government reports, as they are usually in PDF format.

Publications

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Government of Canada's Health Portfolio (list of health-related government agencies)
• Government of Canada Publications Search
• Library of Parliament Research Publications
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Publications  
• New Brunswick Dept. of Health  
• UNB Libraries' Government Documents Search  
• UNB Libraries' Health (Government Information) Guide  

Hansards/Debates

• House of Commons Debates (Hansard)  
• Debates of the Senate (Hansard)  
• Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources  
  • Historical House and Senate debates from 1867–1996
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Hansards  
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Hansards (print)
  • 1931–1979, 1980–1995/1996, 2002/2003–present: third floor, government documents section
  • 1896–1930 (also called Synoptic Reports): Rare Books Reading Room

Journals/Votes and Proceedings

• House of Commons Journals  
• Journals of the Senate  
• Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources  
  • Historical House and Senate journals from 1867–1997
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Journals  
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Journals (via UNB Libraries)
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Journals (print)
  • 1935–present (with some gaps): third floor, government documents section
  • 1894–1934: Rare Books Reading Room

Committee Reports

• LegisInfo  
• Library of Parliament  
• House of Commons Committee Reports  
• Senate Committee Reports  
• Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources  
  • Historical House (1877–1993) and Senate (1887–1993) committee documents
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Committee Reports  
• UNB Libraries
  • Search the catalogue for committee reports in print

Law Reform Commissions

Law reform reports and working papers can provide important background information on a topic and recommendations about ways to reform the law in a certain area.

General Databases

• Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Inventory of Reforms
• CanLII: Reports & Research Papers
  • Includes documents from law reform commissions of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
• Law Reform Database   (via British Columbia Law Institute )
• Uniform Law Conference of Canada  (ULCC)

Provincial

• Access to Justice & Law Reform Institute of Nova Scotia  
• Alberta Law Reform Institute  
• British Columbia Law Institute  
• Law Commission of Ontario  
• Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan  
• Manitoba Law Reform Commission  
• Quebec Civil Code Revision Office Archives  

Other Jurisdictions

• British Columbia Law Institute's Law Reform Resources
  • Provides links to law reform commissions around the world.
• WorldLII Law Reform Project
  • A search engine for law reform documents that are available on any of the Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) that are part of WorldLII.

Websites & Blogs

The following websites may be helpful for your research:

• Canadian Bar Association Health Law Section
• Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics and Professionalism
• Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses
• Canadian Public Health Association
• Dalhousie University Health Justice Institute
• Queen's University Health Services and Policy Research Institute (HSPRI)
• Simon Fraser University Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute
• University of Alberta Health Law Institute
• University of Toronto Health Law and Policy Group
• Guttmacher Institute 
• HIV Legal Network 

There are many blogs maintained by lawyers and law firms, and you can find many of them at lawblogs.ca, an open directory of Canadian blogging lawyers, law librarians, marketers, IT professionals, and paralegals. There are several blogs listed in the medicine & health category that might be helpful.