Throughout Canada, various commissions have been established to conduct public inquiries (also known as Commissions of Inquiry), formerly known as Royal Commissions, under Federal and Provincial legislation. Set up by the provincial and federal governments, these inquiries investigate and report on issues of serious public concern, and scrutinize past decisions and events. Unlike other formal judicial processes, inquiries provide important opportunities to learn from the past and provide public policy recommendations for the future. Public inquiries have been used to address a range of issues, often with the goal of identifying how similar incidents, including catastrophic events, might be prevented in the future.

Coroner’s inquests are established under provincial legislation to examine the circumstances related to a death. While inquiries and inquests are not intended to establish liability, both can have a significant impact on the reputations of the parties involved. As a consequence, it is essential that parties with standing or who may wish to seek standing be properly represented by experienced counsel with a deep grasp of the public policy implications of the process.

Dentons' Inquiries group in Canada offers a multidisciplinary team with an indepth understanding of the constantly evolving regulatory landscapes across a number of sectors, including health care, professional services, construction and manufacturing.

Working in concert with our Government Affairs and Public Policy group, and comprising a world-class team of former politicians, policy leaders and leading lawyers, we leverage our full service legal platform to achieve our clients’ objectives, strategically address complex issues, and mitigate risk.

While inquiries are presided over by a commissioner, usually a sitting or retired judge, and inquests are generally convened by a doctor deputized under the applicable Coroner’s Act, lawyers play a critical role in the inquiry process. At Dentons, our goal is to enable our clients to achieve resolutions in the most timely and cost-effective means possible and preserve their reputations. The members of our public inquiries team have significant experience representing parties and intervenors, as well as acting as commission counsel, in contentious public inquiries. They are experienced and energetic advocates regardless of the forum, successfully representing clients before every level of court and all types of commissions of inquiry and administrative tribunals.

We support clients across our six Canadian offices, with inquiries-related services including:

• Representing and seeking standing for organizations affected by an inquiry or inquest.
• Preparing clients to testify at inquiries and inquests.
• Preparing expert witnesses.
• Preparing submissions and recommendations for the Coroner’s jury.
• Providing advice and representation on related litigation, malpractice, disciplinary and employment issues.
• Providing strategic advice to protect our clients’ reputations, from assisting with communications strategies to defamation litigation.
• Lobbying.

While we currently live through unprecedented times of isolation and public and personal tragedies from the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to look to the future. As the pandemic subsides and the world settles into a new normal, we will have an opportunity to look back at the decisions that were made and the impact they had on our communities. Public Inquiries will be a valuable tool in this endeavour. Dentons’ global platform will provide our clients with a unique opportunity to draw from the insights and experiences of other regions as they too examine the impacts of COVID-19 and the decisions and policies of public and private bodies.