Justice Services, Economic Burden and Social Costs in Canada

Reader’s guide

Justice Problems: A note on terminology

In policy and research on access to justice over the past decades, a range of similar and partly overlapping terms have been used to describe problems occurring in people’s lives that have a legal or justice dimension, including “legal needs”, “legal problems”, “justice needs”, “justice problems” and “justiciable problems”. “Legal needs” remains widely used, and “legal needs surveys” is the most common name for general population surveys that are central to people-centred justice research and justice systems. However, since the landmark “Paths to Justice” study, the established approach has been to ask people about problems arising in their lives without labelling those problems as legal, justice-related or justiciable, since people may not recognise that an issue, conflict or dispute has a legal or justice dimension.

There are also significant reasons for focusing on “problems” rather than defining these experiences primarily as “legal needs”. Labelling an issue as “legal” may suggest that legal expertise or a formal legal procedure is necessarily the appropriate response, whereas many everyday problems can be addressed through other forms of assistance or resolution (Sandefur, 2019[1]). Furthermore, the concept of a “problem” aligns to the way people experience these situations and puts the attention towards the solution and outcomes sought, rather than towards a particular institutional or professional response. The term “justiciable problem”, while important in the development of legal needs survey methodology, is also less readily understood outside specialist literature.

The OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems (OECD, 2024[9]) drew from these precedents in defining legal and justice needs as needs related to a problem with a legal or justice dimension in any sector or any party to the dispute whether or not this is recognised by those involved, and to the subsequent demand to access (public) justice services and other dispute resolution mechanisms in order to obtain recognition of and remedy to such a problem. The Recommendation generally uses the concept of justice problems. For these reasons, recent OECD justice work, as well as this report, uses the combined concept of “legal needs and justice problems”, where appropriate, or simply “justice problems”.

The Canadian context

This report is situated within Canada’s constitutional and institutional framework. Canada is a federation composed of a national (federal) government, ten provincial governments and three territorial governments. This structure reflects the country’s regional diversity. Within the constitutional framework, the Government of Canada recognises that Indigenous peoples have an inherent right to self-government and works in partnership with Indigenous peoples to support their efforts to rebuild and reconstitute their nations (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 2026[2]).

Canada’s justice system is characterised by two official languages, English and French, and two legal traditions: the common law tradition followed in most provinces and territories, and the civil law tradition applied in Quebec for private-law matters. Within this bilingual and bi-jural framework, responsibility for the administration of justice is shared among the federal, provincial and territorial governments and the judiciary, each exercising complementary roles defined by the Canadian Constitution, including both written constitutional provisions and unwritten constitutional principles.

The federal government, through the Parliament of Canada, is responsible for matters of national scope, including criminal law and criminal procedure, which apply across the country, as well as federal penitentiaries. It establishes national legal and policy frameworks in areas such as family justice, access to justice and Indigenous justice. Key federal legislation includes the Divorce Act, Criminal Code, Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR), Youth Criminal Justice Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

The federal government is also responsible for prosecuting certain offences under federal statutes throughout Canada and all Criminal Code offences in the territories, primarily through the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. It appoints and remunerates judges of the superior courts, including provincial and territorial superior trial courts and courts of appeal, the federal courts and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the administration of justice within their jurisdictions. Their responsibilities include investigating Criminal Code offences, prosecuting (except in the territories), operating civil and criminal courts, and establishing rules of civil procedure. Provinces and territories appoint and remunerate judges of lower-level courts and legislate in areas such as property and civil rights, which encompass most areas of private law. They also regulate the legal profession. Across Canada, 14 law societies are responsible for setting licensing requirements, enforcing professional conduct standards and addressing complaints concerning legal professionals.

Responsibility for legal aid is shared between the federal and provincial or territorial governments in accordance with their respective constitutional roles. While legal aid delivery falls primarily under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, the federal government contributes funding for criminal legal aid, immigration and refugee legal aid, and initiatives that support access to civil and family justice.

Justice-related services are frequently delivered through collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial governments. This is particularly the case for policies, programmes and services relating to victims and survivors of crime. The federal government is responsible for victim-related policy development, research, knowledge building, programme development, public legal education and information, and monitoring the implementation of relevant legislation. Provinces and territories are primarily responsible for delivering victim services and have enacted their own victim-focused legislation. Co-operation across jurisdictions supports a range of shared programmes and initiatives in this area.

The report also refers to several federal and national initiatives that seek to improve access to justice, strengthen justice system responses, and address racism and discrimination affecting accused persons, victims and survivors of crime. Additional information on these initiatives is provided in the annex.

References

[2] Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (2026), Self-government, https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100032275/1529354547314.

[1] Sandefur, R. (2019), “Access to What?”, Daedalus, Vol. 148/1, pp. 49-55, https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_00534.