SSM1070H5: Sustainability Law and Policy (Winter 2022)

Many law library research guides, including this one from the University of Toronto's Bora Laskin Law Library, recommend you start your case law research with:

• legal encyclopedias or digests, such as Halsbury's Laws of Canada or Canadian Abridgement Digests (see the Legal Dictionaries & Encyclopedias page of this guide for links to these resources),
• textbooks,
• articles, or
• other books.

In addition to the resources found in this guide, consider using the resources listed in this excellent research guide to environmental law maintained by the Bora Laskin Law Library to identify sources that may list relevant cases. 

Lexis Advance Quicklaw is a leading Canadian commercial legal database that includes Canadian federal, provincial and territorial legislation.

WestlawNext Canada, like its Quicklaw competitor, also includes Canadian case law.

Please note that the Library does NOT subscribe to all modules available on the WestlawNext platform.  The Library's subscription does, however, include the LawSource module, which will contain most of the legal content you need for your assignments.  LawSource is listed under the 'My Subscriptions' tab found on the right-hand side of the home screen.  You may also want to use the 'Browse Legal Topics'  option found on the home screen to find case law, digests, annotations, legal memos and other kinds of content related to a topic, e.g. environmental law.

If you are not familiar with WestlawNext Canada, please watch the videos below to learn how to browse and search for case law.

To search for cases on a given topic:

• Click on the 'LawSource' link under 'My Subscriptions'
• Select the 'Cases and Decisions' link
• Select the 'Advanced' link beside the 'Search' button
• Enter your search terms in the appropriate fields and use the jurisdiction, court level or other filters as appropriate
• Click on the orange 'Search' button to execute your search

To find other cases or law that cite a specific case:

• Select the 'Find and KeyCite by Name' tab at the top of the 'Browse' box
• Select the 'Find and KeyCite a Case by Name' link
• Enter the name of the case into the first search box - you can use operators such as AND or OR to search on one or more keywords associated with the title
• Enter the jurisdiction of the case if known - not required
• Click on the orange 'Search' button at the top to execute your search
• You will see a list of results with your search translated into a search string in the search box
• Click on the desired case and select the 'Citing references' tab above the document to view relevant cases

To learn more about searching and working with legislation and case law in WestlawNext Canada, please consult the materials on the left of this page.