ABSTRACT The story of institutional law reform in Canada has been described by one veteran as ‘somewhat troubling.’ It is a story not without significant successes: In Québec civil law, the codifications were remarkable achievements which realised sweeping and highly-esteemed reforms. Among Canadian common law provinces, Ontario founded the Commonwealth’s first law reform commission in 1964, and as early as 1967 Alberta innovated the now internationally-influential joint venture design of its commission. Further, Canada’s original national commission was notable for its ambitious pursuit of social issues, and the second national commission challenged conventional legal paradigms at unparalleled depth. Across the country, many law commissions were established. Yet, what is ‘troubling’ is how many, including long-established and prominent commissions, were since closed or constrained, impeded from accomplishing what they might have. Meanwhile, in Québec civil law, the codifiers’ repeated calls for a permanent commission have gone unheeded. What does the future hold for institutional law reform in Canada? In Québec civil law, there are some signs of movement towards reform continuity. An important question will be whether processes of continuous incremental reform can be developed and managed to alleviate reliance on overwhelming legal overhauls. Elsewhere in Canada, a few Canadian provinces that shuttered commissions have since re-established them in altered forms. The common themes of austerity, ideology, and alleged redundancy in the downfall of past Canadian commissions remain an ever present concern to the survivors, as they simultaneously confront newly emerging challenges. Time will tell whether, because of their experience in reforming themselves in response to their troubling story to date, Canada’s law commissions may be best-positioned to meet institutional law reform’s challenges of the future.

中文翻译：

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加拿大法律改革的过去、现在和未来

摘要 加拿大机构法律改革的故事被一位资深人士描述为“有点令人不安”。这是一个并非没有重大成功的故事：在魁北克民法中，法典编纂是一项非凡的成就，实现了广泛而备受推崇的改革。在加拿大普通法省份中，安大略省于 1964 年成立了英联邦第一个法律改革委员会，早在 1967 年阿尔伯塔就创新了如今具有国际影响力的委员会合资设计。此外，加拿大最初的国家委员会以其对社会问题的雄心勃勃的追求而著称，第二个国家委员会以无与伦比的深度挑战了传统的法律范式。在全国范围内，成立了许多法律委员会。然而，“令人不安”的是有多少，包括成立已久的知名委员会，后来被关闭或受到限制，无法完成他们可能拥有的工作。与此同时，在魁北克民法中，法典编纂者一再呼吁设立一个常设委员会却无人理会。加拿大机构法改革的未来如何？在魁北克民法中，有一些朝着改革连续性方向发展的迹象。一个重要的问题是，是否可以开发和管理持续渐进式改革的过程，以减轻对压倒性法律改革的依赖。在加拿大的其他地方，一些关闭委员会的加拿大省份此后以不同的形式重新建立了委员会。过去加拿大委员会垮台时的紧缩、意识形态和所谓的裁员等共同主题仍然是幸存者们始终关心的问题，因为他们同时面临新出现的挑战。时间会证明，由于他们在应对迄今为止令人不安的故事时进行自我改革的经验，加拿大的法律委员会是否可能最有能力应对未来机构法律改革的挑战。