The rollout of AI-powered enrichments to historical case law for Canadian provinces on CanLII continues! After Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island, we are pleased to announce the addition of three new provinces/territories to this list: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Northwest Territories.
From now on, AI Analysis tabs will be automatically generated as new decisions are published on CanLII for these provinces and territories.
Regarding historical case law, the project has achieved almost complete coverage, with the following impressive numbers of enriched documents:
- New Brunswick: around 43,200 decisions (92% of NB case law) in English and in French.
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 14,000 decisions (99,5% of NL case law).
- Northwest Territories: around 12,000 decisions (99% of NT case law).
Note that the ratio is lower in New Brunswick due to a larger number of very short decisions proving impossible to summarize. On the other hand, New Brunswick’s bilingual material greatly increases the volume of French AI-powered enrichments available on CanLII. And these do not yet include AI analysis in the alternative language (French enrichments of English cases, and vice versa). We are currently working on this new type of added value.
As always, our summaries are designed to provide a clear and concise overview of the case, aiding both legal professionals and the public in grasping the essential elements of legal decisions more quickly. Each AI analysis contains a link so users can provide feedback. The summaries are structured as follows: Facts, Procedural History, Parties’ Submissions, Legal Issues, Disposition and Reasons. References to other CanLII content are hyperlinked, and whenever possible, we provide links to the pertinent paragraph numbers within the body of the corresponding decision.
This monumental task was made possible through the generous funding provided by the Law Societies of New Brunswick, of Newfoundland and Labrador and of the Northwest Territories. Lexum and CanLII extend their heartfelt thanks for their support.
Looking ahead, the CanLII AI enrichment project is set to expand further. We are already working with CanLII on similar projects for other provinces. In the long term, our vision is to provide coast-to-coast access to a large array of AI enrichments to primary legal information for all Canadians.
