PH 7.00 (Neutral Citation)
What does the number "6" signify in the following citation?
Burrows v Wynnyk, 2026 ABKB 6
It was the 6th decision of the Alberta Court of King's Bench in the year 2026.
(Section 3.5)
What does the term "ibid" signify?
To look at the immediately preceding reference (even if it was another "ibid" reference)
(Section 1.4.2)
Identify the error in this citation:
Carole Wahl v Edmund Wahl, 2000 ABQB 10
The first names of the parties should not be included.
(Section 3.3.1, page E-38)
What should be italicized in this citation?
SA De Smith, Judicial Review of Administrative Action, 5th ed by Lord Woolf & Jeffrey Jowell (London, UK: Sweet & Maxwell, 1995).
The title of the book should be italicized.
SA De Smith, Judicial Review of Administrative Action, 5th ed by Lord Woolf & Jeffrey Jowell (London, UK: Sweet & Maxwell, 1995).
(Section 6.2.1)
Which jurisdiction passed the following Act?
Ombudsman Act, 2012, SS 2012, c O-3.2
Saskatchewan
SS stands for “Statutes of Saskatchewan”
(Section 2.1.1)
Which Court issued the following decision?
Sherwood v Wyllie, 2026 BCSC 1919
Supreme Court of British Columbia
(Appendix B-3)
What does this footnote mean?
Supra note 5 at para 33.
Look at the resource cited in the 5th footnote, at paragraph 33.
(Section 1.4.3)
Identify the error in this citation:
Rex v Henry, 2026 ABKB 26
The “Rex” should be replaced with “R”
Rex (or Regina, depending on the monarch) is used in criminal cases to represent the Crown.
(Section 3.3.8, Page E-40)
What would be the pinpoint citation for footnotes numbered 4 through 6 on page 354?
“at 354, nn 4-6”
What does “ss” stand for in the following citation?
(located after “c T-6”)
Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6, ss 2.2(1), 169(1)-(3)
“Sections”
(Section 2.1.10)
Generally, when providing a neutral citation, what information must you place in parentheses at the end of the citation?
Nothing.
Neutral citations include the jurisdiction and level of court in the court identifier, so you do not need to repeat the information.
(Section 3.1)
Multiple choice:
What is true about pinpoint citations?
a.) They are generally preferred to citations without a pinpoint.
b.) The pinpoint will be different if you are using a neutral citation versus an online database.
c.) Both a.) and b.)
d.) Neither a.) nor b.)
A.)
Where possible, you should include a pinpoint reference in your citation.
Generally, pinpoint citations for cases will refer to paragraph numbers. The paragraph numbers should be the same, though older cases may occassionally have discrepencies between the neutral citation paragraph numbering and the online database paragraph numbering.
Identify the error in this citation:
Rex v Del Bianco, 2023 ABKB 430
Trick question!
There is no error in the citation. Rex is the surname of one of the parties, so it cannot be shortened to "R".
This citation refers you to which electronic secondary source?
CED 4th (online), Securities and Stock Exchanges, “Securities Offences Under the Criminal Code: Fraudulent Manipulation of Stock Exchange Transactions” (II.1) at §191-195
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
(Section 6.4.1.2)
What is missing from the following citation to a Bill?
Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, 40th Parl, 2010 (first reading 2 June 2010).
The citation is missing the Session number.
This is important information because the numbering for Bills restarts at the beginning of each legislative session.
(Section 2.4)
True or False
R v Sault Ste. Marie, 1978 CanLII 11 (SCC)
is an example of a neutral citation.
FALSE
Although it may look like a neutral citation by following the “Year-Judgment Number” format, this is an example of an identifier used by CanLII, which is an online database. Neutral citations are not available for many older decisions.
What is wrong with the following citation?
R v Olafson, 2026 ABCJ 92 at p 34
The shortform for paragraph is "para" not "p"
Generally "p" corresponds to the shortform for "page," but a neutral citation exists in a digital (not printed) format, so a reference to a page number doesn't make sense.
What does the “c” tell you in the following citation?
R c Caron, 2009 ABQB 745
The language of the case was French
c is short for “contre”; v is short for “versus”
(Section 3.3, Page E-38)
In the following citation, what do the numbers “55” and “4” signify?
Felix Hoehn & Michael Stevens, “Local Governments and the Crown’s Duty to Consult” (2018) 55:4 Alta L Rev 971.
It signifies the volume number (55) and the issue number (4).
(Section 6.1.1)
The title of this act is the “Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017”
Should the year (2017) be included twice in the citation?
Yes. It should read:
Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017, SO 2017, c 26, Sch 2
Where the official title of the statute includes the year as part of the title of the statute, it should be included.
(Section 2.1.4)
Which province’s superior court was the last one to adopt the neutral citation standard?
Ontario
January 2010
See “A Neutral Citation Standard for Case Law”
https://lexum.com/ccc-ccr/neutr/index_en.html
Consider the following footnote:
[X] Ibid, at para 11; Gazelle, infra note 12; and Gruber, supra note 9.
What number would this footnote be (ie What is the value of "X"?)
It would be footnote 11.
Supra refers to a footnote above, so this footnote is lower than 9.
Infra refers to a footnote below, so this footnote is higher than 12.
Ibid refers to the immediately preceding footnote, which is different than Gazelle, so we must be footnote 11.
What is wrong with this citation?
Reference re Firearms Act, 2000 SCC 31
There is both a Federal and Provincial Firearms Act. The style of cause should identify which Act you are talking about, so you need to include that information in parentheses.
Reference re Firearms Act (Canada), 2000 SCC 31
(See 3.3.7 of the McGill Guide, page E-40)
What are the two things wrong with this citation?
Stewart, ”The Confessions Rule and the Charter” (2009) 54 McGill LJ 517 (Montreal: CanLII)
1. The Author’s full name should be included (Hamish Stewart)
2. There should not be “publisher info” (Montreal: CanLII)
In the following regulation:
Saskatchewan Review of Parole Ineligibility Rules, SOR/2005-99
What does “SOR” stand for? What was the enabling Act for this regulation?
SOR stands for Statutory Orders and Regulations
The Criminal Code of Canada was the enabling Act.
SOR indicates that these are Federal regulations, despite the regulation pertaining only to Saskatchewan.