The definitions set out in the glossary below apply solely for the purposes of this report.
Access to justice: ability of people, businesses and communities to prevent conflicts and obtain effective, fair, equitable and timely resolution of their legal and justice-related needs (Definition from the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems.)
Child: any person under 18 years old, aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but there are differences across provinces and territories. For example, in each province and territory, the age of protection varies in child protection legislation from under 16 years to under 19 years. At a national level, the Youth Criminal Justice Act applies to those aged 12 – 17 years.
Child victimisation: at least one instance of physical or sexual abuse by an adult before age 15 (definition from Statistics Canada).
Civil justice problems: non-criminal problems with a legal dimension, such as family, housing, debt, discrimination, or medical-treatment disputes.
Criminal justice problems: crime-related problems and their justice-system consequences.
Disability-adjusted life years: measure of lost healthy life caused by illness, disability, or premature death.
Diversion: process or program that directs a case away from formal prosecution or court and toward another response, often community-based.
Domestic violence: is a broad classification term that includes violence committed by current and common married spouses, common-law partners, dating partners, and other intimate partners. Intimate partner violence in includes.
Family violence a broader classification that includes intimate partner violence as well as violence committed by parents, children, siblings, and extended family members (such as grandparents, in-laws, or uncles/aunts).
Dispute resolution: ways of resolving disputes without resorting to a court hearing, such as mediation, conciliation, or arbitration.
Duty counsel: immediate and free legal advice or representation provided to people who do not have a lawyer, usually at court in family or criminal proceedings.
Econometric analysis / econometric model: statistical analysis used to estimate how different factors are related to an outcome while controlling for other variables.
Everyday life problems: ordinary day-to-day problems that may have a legal dimension.
Exact matching method: method that compares people who are identical on observed characteristics except for one factor, to isolate that factor’s effect.
Incidence: number or share of new cases over a given period; in this report, usually an annualized rate.
Intangible costs: harms that do not have a direct market price, such as pain, suffering, fear, or reduced quality of life.
Justice pathways: formal and informal pre-court and court mechanisms and services used by people and other stakeholders to prevent legal issues and/or seek their resolution (Definition from the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems).
Justiciable events: situations or events that raise legal issues or have legal implications, whether or not people see them that way.
Judicare model: legal aid model in which services are provided by private lawyers, who are paid by legal aid plans.
Legal Needs and Justice problems: problems with a legal or justice dimension in any sector, whether or not they are recognised by those involved, and the resulting demand for justice services and other dispute resolution mechanisms to obtain a remedy.
Legal and justice services: the spectrum of in-person, online or hybrid judicial and non-judicial services offering individuals and businesses 1) support in the form of legal information, advice, resources and representation, and 2) formal or informal mechanisms to resolve their dispute or address their legal needs, including alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms that enable out of court settlements and schemes that support prevention and de-escalation (Definition from the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems).
Legal capability: person’s ability to recognize a legal issue, understand rights and options, know where to get help, and act effectively.
Legal needs surveys (LNS): surveys that ask people about legal or justice-related problems they have experienced and what they did about them.
Lost productivity: lost work, household production, or economic output because of injury, illness, stress, or time spent dealing with a problem.
People-centred justice: justice that focuses on people’s real-life problems, needs, experiences, and pathways to resolution, rather than only on institutions and procedures.
Prevalence: total number or share of cases existing at a given point or within a population.
Professional assistance: services that include information, advice, support and or representation by a legal professional or someone trained under the supervision of a legal professional.
Property crime: non-violent offences involving theft, fraud, and/or vandalism, depending on the data source used.
Public costs / public resources: costs borne by government and public systems, such as courts, policing, healthcare, and social services.
Public legal education and information: public-facing legal information designed to help people understand rights, options, and procedures.
Relative risk ratio (RRR): measure showing how much more or less likely one group is to experience an outcome than another comparable group.
Social costs: total burden a problem creates for individuals, employers, third parties, public services, and society as a whole.
Social determinants of justice: social and economic conditions—such as income, housing, health, education, and employment status—that shape justice problems and justice outcomes.
Social welfare approach: way of valuing costs from the perspective of overall society, not just private out-of-pocket expenses.
Spousal violence: violence committed by a current or former spouse.
Trauma-informed: approach used in the justice system to recognize the effects of trauma and avoid causing further harm or re-traumatization.
Value of a statistical life: economic estimate of the value society places on reducing the risk of death.
Victim and survivor-centred: approach designed around the safety, needs, voice, and choices of victims or survivors.
Violent crime: crime such as assault, sexual assault, robbery, harassment, and, in some cost sections, homicide.