Reference Sources
Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.
There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.
Electronically, CED is available in WestlawNext Canada, while Halsbury's is available in Lexis Advance Quicklaw.
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
In print and electronically, the CED has Environmental Law titles available (vol 23 in print).
Please make sure you check the currency of these titles in WestlawNext Canada, as some of the CED titles can be years out of date.
Halsbury's Laws of Canada
Both in print and electronically, there is an Environment title available. The title code for the volume is HEN.
Please check the currency of these titles. This resource provides information from each province in Canada, as well as federally.
Journal Articles & Databases
If you already know the journal title, year, volume number and page number for an article, you may be able to access it electronically by searching for the journal's title in the UNB e-journals database. If we have the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.
Non-Law Databases:
- Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide, produced by NISC, indexes published literature (journals, monographs, proceedings of conferences and symposia, government reports, grey literature, books, theses, and dissertations) on wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Major topic areas include studies of individual species, habitat types, hunting, economics, wildlife behavior, management techniques, diseases, ecotourism, and zoology.
Unlimited simultaneous users. - Earth, Atmospheric, & Aquatic Science Database (ProQuest) The Earth, Atmospheric, & Aquatic Science Database is an interdisciplinary resource of quality, curated A&I combined with full-text content from scholarly journals, trade journals, conference proceedings, and other sources. The coverage extends Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts (MGA) by providing a sizable element of full-text access along with comprehensive discovery through the extensive abstracts and indexes structured using controlled vocabulary managed by expert editorial teams. For coverage of aquatic science, the collection features the entire range of bibliographic records from Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA).
Content Types: Scholarly Journals, Trade Journals, Books, Conference Papers and Proceedings, Government & Official Publications, Magazines, Newspapers, Other Sources, Reports, Tables, Wire Feeds, Working Papers, Video and Audio.
Unlimited simultaneous users. - Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) "is a comprehensive database on the science, technology, and management of marine, brackishwater, and freshwater environments and resources."
Unlimited simultaneous users. - Agricola (National Agricultural Library Catalog) AGRICOLA "provides U.S. and international coverage of information sources in agriculture, life sciences and related fields. Based on the U.S. National Agriculture Library collection."
Unlimited simultaneous users
Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text journal search. An index is a systematic listing of journal articles by topic. A few indexes in law are listed below, followed by key legal databases.
Law Databases:
- Index to Canadian Legal Literature (via WestlawNext Canada and Lexis Advance Quicklaw for UNB Law students and faculty)
- Index to Canadian Legal Literature (via campus-wide version of Quicklaw for UNB non-law and STU students: type "Index to Canadian Legal Literature" in search box and add as a search filter)
- Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
- Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
- LegalTrac
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw (UNB Law faculty and students only)
- WestlawNext Canada (UNB Law faculty and students only)
- HeinOnline
There are other indexes available in print and electronically, as well as more full-text journal databases. Contact a law librarian for assistance.
Books
To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat, the library's catalogue. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at all of UNB's libraries (including UNB Saint John).
Items shown as LAW-RESERVE may be requested at the circulation desk on the first floor of the Law Library. Items shown as LAW-STACKS are on the second floor, and LAW-REF materials are on the first floor in the reference section.
The following books may be useful in your research:
Dictionaries
- The Dictionary of Environmental Law and Science (LAW-REF KF3775 .ZA2 T45 1994)
- Miller Thomson's Environmental Law Dictionary (LAW-REF KF3775 .A68 M54 1995)
Books
- Environmental Law (Irwin Law series) (LAW-STACKS KF3775 .ZA2 B36)
- Environmental Law and Policy (LAW-STACKS KF3775 .ZA2 E58 2003)
- The Law of Climate Change in Canada (LAW-STACKS KF3783 .A6 M345 2014)
- Encyclopedia of Global Warming & Climate Change (eBook)
Loose-leaf texts
- Annotated climate change statutes and regulations in Canada (LAW-RESERVE KF3783 .A6 A56 2010 (2 vols))
- Blakes' Canadian law of endangered species (LAW-RESERVE KF5640 .A6 W35 2007 (2 vols))
- The Canadian brownfields manual (LAW-RESERVE KF3946 .A6 A23 2004)
- Canadian environmental law guide (LAW-RESERVE KF3775 .ZA2 C37 1996 (3 vols))
- Environmental regulation in Canada (LAW-RESERVE KF3775 .ZA2 C38 2008)
- The law of climate change in Canada (LAW-RESERVE KF3783 .A6 M345 2014)
- The prosecution and defence of environmental offences (LAW-RESERVE KF3775 .ZA2 B475 1994 (2 vols))
- Toxic real estate manual (LAW-RESERVE KF3775 .ZA2 C63 1994)
Cases & Legislation
Key Resources
The following databases and websites provide access to federal and provincial cases and legislation.
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw (law students only)
- Quicklaw (campus-wide version for UNB non-law and STU students and faculty)
- WestlawNext Canada (law students only)
- CanLII
- Justice Laws (Government of Canada federal legislation)
- New Brunswick Legislation (Attorney General)
Statutes
The following statutes may be helpful. To search for others, use the databases mentioned above.
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, SC 1999, c 33 (and its regulations)
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, SC 2012, c 19, s 52 (and its regulations)
- Antarctic Environmental Protection Act, SC 2003, c 20 (and its regulations)
- Clean Environment Act, RSNB 1973, c C-6
Cases and Decisions
Along with searching the databases mentioned above, one can use other products to find case law:
- Canadian Abridgment Digests
A digest service that indexes cases by subject. This is an extremely useful resource. There are Environmental Law volumes in print (vols 31 and 31A Reissue) and electronically in WestlawNext Canada (UNB Law students and faculty only).
- Canada Digest
A digest service similar to the Canadian Abridgment. Useful titles include Canada Environmental Law Digest. It is available electronically through Quicklaw (campus-wide version available to all UNB and STU students and faculty) and Lexis Advance Quicklaw (UNB Law students and faculty only).
- LexisNexis Environmental Law Netletter
A monthly current awareness service that provides short summaries of significant new Canadian decisions on immigration law that have been added to Quicklaw. It is available electronically through Quicklaw (campus-wide version available to all UNB and STU students and faculty) and Lexis Advance Quicklaw (UNB Law students and faculty only).
- Case Reporters
If you wish to browse the print reporters, we have some topical law reports dealing with human rights law on the second floor. Note: much of this content is retrospective. For current cases/decisions, please use electronic databases (i.e.: WestlawNext Canada, Lexis Advance Quicklaw) when available.- Canadian Environmental Law News (1972-1978; continues as Canadian Environmental Law Reports), stack 269
- Canadian Environmental Law Reports (1978-2015), stack 269 (current holdings available electronically in WestlawNext Canada)
Government Documents
Government departments and agencies publish a great deal of important law-related information. The Law Library's collection of printed government documents is located on the library's third floor. Use UNB WorldCat to search, or ask a library staff member for help.
The Harriet Irving Library also has government documents, which can be located through UNB WorldCat.
For government documents that are available online, try using UNB Libraries' Google Custom Search.
The following sites might be useful:
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
Includes information on climate change, species at risk, weather, environmental indicators, and more.
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act Registry
In this registry you can find documents relating to the administration of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). The Act governs a variety of environmental matters such as air and water pollution, waste management and toxic substances. Includes substance lists, codes of practice, regulations, and more.
- Environment and Natural Resources: Services and Information
Links to information on Canadian weather, agriculture, wildlife, energy, natural resources, pollution, environmental protection and fishing.
- Federal Environmental Assessment Index: Public Registry
A master list of all the environmental assessments carried out under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act that have been registered by responsible federal authorities. The index also provides contacts with each assessment in order to provide the public with an opportunity to obtain further information.
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Delivers high-quality environmental assessments and serves as the centre of expertise on this subject matter within the Government of Canada.
- Environment and Local Government (New Brunswick)
Provides information on the Environmental Trust Fund, air quality reports, publications, and more.
Websites & Blogs
The following websites may be helpful for your research:
- Canadian Environmental Law Association (Ontario)
- The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy
- Canadian Institute of Resources Law (University of Calgary)
- Centre for Global Environmental and Natural Resource Law (University of British Columbia)
- Ecojustice Canada
- Marine & Environmental Law Institute (Dalhousie University)
- New Brunswick Environmental Network
There are many blogs maintained by lawyers and law firms, and you can find many of them at lawblogs.ca. There are several blogs listed in the Energy and Resources category that may be helpful.
More Information More Information
- Nikki Tanner (Profile)
- Reference/Instruction Librarian
- UNB Fredericton
- Nikki.Tanner@unb.ca