Keep It Neutral
What does the number "9" signify in the following citation?
Beaudette v Alberta (Securities Commission), 2016 ABCA 9.
That it was the 9th decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2016.
See: McGill Guide, 3.5.3 ("Decision Number")
Identify the long form of the following case reporter:
AR
Alberta Reports
See: McGill Guide, Appendix C-2 ("All Reporters and Identifiers"
Identify the error in this citation:
Young v Zukowski, 2024 AB 593.
The court is not specified: it should read "ABKB" not just "AB"
See: McGill Guide, 3.5.2 ("Tribunal Identifier")
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).
See: McGill Guide, 6.2.3 ("Title")
Which jurisdiction passed the following Act?
Immigration Services Act, SS 2024, c 14.
Saskatchewan
"SS" stands for Statutes of Saskatchewan"
See: McGill Guide, 2.1.7 ("Jurisdiction")
Which court issued the following decision?
R v Borden, 2025 NSSC 32.
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
See: McGill Guide, Appendix B-3 ("Neutral Citations")
Identify the long form of the following case reporter:
DLR (3d)
Dominion Law Reports (Third Series)
See: McGill Guide, Appendix C-2 ("All Reporters and Identifiers")
What is the first sentence in the paragraph referenced by this citation?
Curtis v McCague Borlack LLP, 2024 ONCA 729 at para 11.
"The doctrine of absolute privilege is deeply rooted in Canadian common law."
Assume you are citing a book. What would be the pinpoint citation for pages 4 through 6 and page 13?
"at 4-6, 13"
Consecutive pinpoints are separated by a dash and non-consecutive pinpoints are separated by a comma.
See: McGill Guide, 1.5 ("Pinpoints")
What does "s" (following "c T-6") mean in the following citation?
Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000, c T-6, s 169(1).
Section
See: McGill Guide, 2.1.10 ("Pinpoint")
How many "reporter" citations are needed when no neutral citation and no CanLII citation is available?
At least two reporter citations are recommended in the absence of either a neutral citation or a CanLII citation
See: McGill Guide, Chapter 3.1 ("Sources")
Identify the long form of the following court/tribunal:
CQ
Court of Quebec/Cour du Quebec
See: McGill Guide, Appendix B-2 ("Abbreviations")
This citation indicates that the 2024 decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal affirmed a 2022 Alberta Court of King's Bench decision.
Fill in the Blank:
Jackson v Cooper, 2024 ABCA 272, ____ 2022 ABKB 609.
"Aff'g"
Note: Be aware of the difference between "aff'd" (affirmed)/"aff'g" (affirming) and "rev'd" (reversed)/"rev'g" (reversing)!
See: McGill Guide, 3.11 ("History of Case")
Correct the following citation:
Erin Nelson, "Health Information Privacy and the Law: Narrowing Alberta's Accountability Gaps" (2024) 61:3 Alberta Law Review at 517.
The law journal title (Alberta Law Review) should be abbreviated to "Alta L Rev":
Erin Nelson, "Health Information Privacy and the Law: Narrowing Alberta's Accountability Gaps" (2024) 61:3 Alta L Rev at 517.
See: McGill Guide, Appendix D
What is missing from the following citation?
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 (here, 3rd Session of the 40th Parliament):
Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, 3rd Sess, 40th Parl, 2010 (first reading 2 June 2010).
See: McGill Guide, 2.4 ("Bills")
Note: This is important information because the numbering for Bills restarts at the beginning of each legislative session!
True or False: R v Sault Ste Marie, 1978 CanLII 11 (SCC) is an example of a neutral citation.
False
This is an example of an identifier used by CanLII.
See: McGill Guide, Chapter 3.1 ("Sources") and Chapter 3.7 ("Online Database Services")
Identify the shorthand for the following case reporter:
British Columbia Appeal Cases
BCAC
See: McGill Guide, Appendix C-2 ("All Reporters and Identifiers")
Note: Not to be confused with the shorthand for the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA)!
What is missing from this citation?
R v Stenning, 10 DLR (3d) 224, 11 CR (NS) 68 (SCC).
The year of the decision (in this case, 1970):
R v Stenning (1970), 10 DLR (3d) 224, 11 CR (NS) 68 (SCC).
See: McGill Guide, 3.4 ("Year of Decision") and 3.8.1 ("Year of Reporter").
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.
"55:4" signifies the volume number (55) and issue number (4) of the law journal (Alberta Law Review)
See: McGill Guide, 6.1.5 ("Volume, Issue, and Series")
Correct this citation:
Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017, SO c 26, SCR 2 at s 5.
It should read:
Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017, SO 2017, c 26, SCR 2 at s 5.
Where the official title of the statute includes the year, it should be treated as part of the title and italicized. The year should also be indicated after the statute volume and jurisdiction, even if included in the title.
See: McGill Guide, 2.1.4 ("Title")
A case between Kadiri and Liu was the 250th decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2024. What is the full neutral citation for this case?
Kadiri v Liu, 2024 ABCA 250.
See: McGill Guide, 3.5 ("Neutral Citation")
Identify the long form of the following court/tribunal:
Terr Ct (Youth Ct)
Territorial Court (Youth Court)
See: Appendix C-2 ("All Reporters and Identifiers")
What is the error in this citation?
R v K Mart Canada Limited, 1979 CanLII 1191, 24 AR 505.
The jurisdiction and court level are missing:
R v K Mart Canada Limited, 1979 CanLII 1191, 24 AR 505 (ABQB).
See: McGill 3.9 ("Jurisdiction and Court")
What is wrong with this citation?
Kent Roach, Benjamin L Berger, Emma Cunliffe & Asad G Kiyani, Criminal Law and Procedure: Cases and Materials, 12th ed (Toronto: Emond, 2020) at 123-140.
Because there are more than 3 authors, you should only list the first author plus "et al":
Kent Roach et al, Criminal Law and Procedure: Cases and Materials, 12th ed (Toronto: Emond, 2020) at 123-140.
See: McGill Guide, 6.1.2.2 ("Join Authors")
In the following regulation, what does "SOR" stand for?
Saskatchewan Review of Parole Ineligibility Rules, SOR/2005-99.
Statutory Orders and Regulations
This indicates that these are Federal regulations.
See: McGill Guide, 2.5 ("Regulations")