Legal Encyclopedias
Certain secondary sources are designed specifically to be finding aids -- examples of this are the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED), and Halsbury's Laws of Canada. These tools are unique to legal research and are great places to start your research.
The CED and Halsbury's are both large legal encyclopedias that address key elements in all areas of law, with abundant citations to relevant case law and legislation. The CED is located in Westlaw Canada and Halsbury's is part Lexis+. Both can be searched, or preferably, browsed, which allows you to see how various subtopics fit together.
- Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED)
- Halsbury's Laws of Canada (linked on Lexis+ homepage under Popular Sources)
Legal Dictionaries
Legal dictionaries define legal terms and common words with special legal meanings.
- Canadian Law Dictionary, 7th ed. 2013 Updated and expanded to reflect the most recent developments and revisions in Canadian national and provincial law, Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary is a concise guide to legal citation in Canada. Supplemented with information on relevant source materials, particularly in cases and statutes, this handy and easy-to-use reference includes: Concise definitions for key terms in Canadian law Overview of the Canadian court system The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in its entiretyCall Number: KF 156 Y64 2013 (University of Alberta JA Weir Law)
The Dictionary of Canadian Law, 4th ed. 2011 by Call Number: KF 156 D877 2011 (University of Alberta JA Weir Law)
