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CA-K1811Citizenship Test

Courts, police and access to legal help

The Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa, photographed in 2009; an institutional exterior, not a particular hearing or judgment.
The Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa, photographed in 2009; an institutional exterior, not a particular hearing or judgment. Ottawa - ON - Oberster Gerichtshof von Kanada · Wladyslaw / Taxiarchos228 · Photo source · Photo licence: CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for display; record previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
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Courts resolve cases and legal disputes; police enforce laws and protect public safety. Canadians can question police service or conduct and use the applicable complaint process.

Scope & context

Independent citizenship-study support. Read the cited official sources; this is not an official question bank or a guarantee of a test result.

More context

The Supreme Court of Canada is the final court of appeal. Federal and provincial/territorial courts have different responsibilities. The RCMP enforces federal laws and also supplies contract policing in many jurisdictions; Ontario and Quebec have provincial police forces. Local policing arrangements vary.

A lawyer can advise and represent a person. Legal aid may be available to eligible people, but coverage and eligibility depend on the program and jurisdiction. Asking for police help or raising a complaint does not require treating the police as above the law.

Sources behind this record

1
Discover Canada — The Justice System ↗

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

The Justice System; sections and tables identified in the research record