Government Publications
- Canadian Government Publications PortalScanned government publications made available by the Internet Archive. Includes federal, provincial and municipal material.
Featured Book
Law, Politics, and the Judicial Process in Canada, 5th EditionOffers ten updated chapters, all-new chapter introductions, and over two dozen new readings addressing current issues Canadian law and politics.
About Legal Secondary Sources
In legal research secondary sources refer to legal writings that do not emanate from the courts or legislation. They are the work of one or more authors who analyze the law.
Searching for secondary sources is typically the first step in legal research. They assist the researcher in first, explaining and understanding the law and second, locating the law. Often referred to as commentaries, these resources often include footnotes and citations that can direct you to relevant legislation and case law.
Secondary sources can be in print and electronic formats.
Examples of secondary sources include:
- Textbooks
- Treatises
- Casebooks
- Loose-leaf resources
- Legal encyclopedias
- Dictionaries
- Books of words and phrases
- Acronym and abbreviation guides
- Journals and periodicals
- Legal blogs and newspapers
Explore these resources:
New Titles
Modernising Legal EducationContributions report on a variety of curriculum initiatives, including role-play, gamification, virtual reality, project-based learning, design thinking, data analytics, clinical legal education, apprenticeships, experiential learning and regulatory reform.
Design in Legal EducationThis visually rich, experience-led collection explores what design can do for legal education.
Drug Legalization in Federalist Constitutional DemocraciesThis book uses the Canadian cannabis legalization experiment, analyzed in the historical context of wider drug criminalization in Canada and placed in an international perspective, to examine important lessons about the differential implementation of federal law in jurisdictions within federalist constitutional democracies.
Introduction to Contracts (5th edition)Written in plain English and updated to reflect the current state of the law, Introduction to Contracts, 5th Edition demystifies contract law without resorting to legalese, extensive and often confusing case analysis, and lengthy case citations.
Just Words: Law, Language, and PowerIn tackling the question of how an abstract entity exerts concrete power, 'Just Words' focuses on what has become the central issue in law and language research: what language reveals about the nature of legal power.
The Legal Professional Career GuideDesigned specifically for non-lawyers who are preparing to embark on a career in the legal field, whether as a paralegal, legal assistant, or law clerk.
Practical English Language Skills for LawyersA resource suitable for both existing legal professionals and students interested in gaining an advantage ahead of practicing.
Professional Ethics and Law in Education: A Canadian GuidebookDesigned as a guide for pre-service education students and in-service teachers, Professional Ethics and Law in Education: A Canadian Guidebook provides an accessible and accurate source of information on the ethical and legal frameworks of the teaching profession while encouraging the examination of fundamental issues that underpin key debates in Canadian schooling and education.
Professionalism and Ethics in the Legal OfficeThis book will identify the parameters of ethical behaviour required of a law clerk or legal assistant, and will include a brief examination of relevant rules of professional conduct from some sample jurisdictions (e.g., the Rules of Professional Conduct of various provincial law societies, including the LSO), and will assist students in recognizing and developing appropriate ethical practices for both within and outside of the office.
Working with the Residential Tenancies Act (5th edition)Introduces legal students to the protection and enforcement of rights of both landlords and tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act as well as the practice of representing residential landlords and tenants at the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board.
