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This is a list of Canadian royal commissions or commissions of inquiry since Confederation.

In Canada, royal commissions and commissions of inquiry are official inquiries into matters of national concern, either in order to look into an important general issue or to fully investigate a specific incident. They are appointed by the governor-in-Council (Cabinet), according to the Inquiries Act, by an order-in-Council that includes the names of the commissioners, the terms of reference, and the body's powers; commissions are often referred to informally by the name of the chairperson or commissioner(s), such as the "Gomery Inquiry", a commission headed by John Gomery. The findings are reported to Cabinet for appopriate action; while these are non-binding, many have a significant impact on public opinion and the shape of public policy.

The Crown in right of each province can also appoint a royal commission. Federal inquiries are limited to matters within the constitutional jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada; they can only look at issues within provincial jurisdiction that are connected to federal jurisdiction, such as policing on-reserve, child welfare on-reserve, etcetera. Other types of federal public inquiries include task forces and departmental investigations.

Since the 1960s, royal commissions have tended to be reserved for broad topics, whereas commissions of inquiry have more focused. From 1867 to 2013, there have been almost 450 federal commissions of inquiry, with and without the royal title; more than 1,500 departmental investigations; and an undetermined number of task forces.^[1]

Overview[edit]

An inquiry called by the federal government into matters of national concern are known in Canada as royal commissions or commissions of inquiry. These consist of a panel of distinguished individuals, experts, or judges convened by the governor-in-Council (the governor general acting on the advice of Cabinet) to look into and secure advice for an issue of general importance or to fully investigate a specific contentious incident.^[1] The same order-in-Council forming the commission will also set out the terms of reference for, and powers of, the commission.^[2][3] This is done according to the Inquiries Act, which was first passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1868 and provides royal commissions, commissions of inquiry, task forces, and departmental investigations the power to conduct investigations by subpoenaing witnesses, taking evidence under oath, requisitioning documents, and hiring expert staff.^[1]

Once the commission's task is complete, its findings are reported to Cabinet for appropriate action.^[2][3] While a commission's findings and recommendations are non-binding, many have a significant impact on public opinion and the shape of public policy.^[3][4]

In practice, royal commissions can be seen as commissions of inquiry under the Great Seal of Canada that carry a royal title;^[1] though, apart from this distinction, there is no effective difference between the two. Royal commissions tend to be thought of as broader in scope than other public inquiries, often holding nationwide public hearings and publishing associated research reports, as well as their formal findings and recommendations.^[3][5]

There are several different kinds of commissions of inquiry, which can be established under either Part I or Part II of the Inquiries Act, or any one of 87 or more federal statutes. The mandate of a commission of inquiry depends on the nature of the issue to be considered.^[4] Advisory commissions usually have a broad mandate in order to ensure that commissioners consider all options and consult all parties with an interest in the matter,^[4] whereas investigative commissions typically have a more specific, focused mandate.^[4] Commissions of inquiry created under Part I of the Inquiries Act are considered to government departments for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act (FAA). Oftentimes, the prime minister is given responsibility for the commission for the purposes of the FAA, thus enabling the commission to receive administrative support from the Privy Council Office.^[3]

Other types of public inquiry in Canada that are closely related to royal commissions include^[1] task forces, which are normally composed of knowledgeable practitioners appointed by government departments to conduct concentrated investigations into specific practical matters. In the past, they have been assigned to look into such matters as privacy and computers, immigration procedures, retirement income policy, labour market development, fisheries policy, and sports. Though usually not as wide-ranging as royal commissions, some task forces have dealt with broad issues, such as housing and urban development, government information, and the structure and foreign ownership of Canadian industry.^[1][6] There are also departmental investigations, which can be established by departments and other agencies under statutory powers of the Inquiries Act.^[1]

Federal inquiries are limited to matters within the constitutional jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada. They can only look at issues within provincial jurisdiction that are connected to federal jurisdiction, such as policing on-reserve, child welfare on-reserve, etcetera.^[7] The Crown in right of each province can also appoint a royal commission, although, they are not included in this list.

Royal commissions[edit]

Commissions of inquiry[edit]

Task forces[edit]

Other public inquiries[edit]

Many of these are task forces in miniature.

Provincial commissions and inquiries[edit]

Period	Province	Name	Issue	Commissioner/chair
1903	Manitoba	Royal Commission re Charges Against the Chief Clerk of the Department of Agriculture and Immigration[18]	Charges and statements made by department clerk Melvin Bartlett against deputy minister Hugh McKellar	D. M. Walker and R. H. Myers
1916-1917	Manitoba	Royal Commission Constituted to Inquire into all Matters Pertaining to the Manitoba Agricultural College[19]	The development of the Manitoba Agricultural College in the 1910s	A. C. Galt
1916-1917	Manitoba	Royal Commission Constituted to Inquire into and Report on all Expenditures for Road Work during the Year 1914[20]	Road work expenditures in Emerson, Roblin, Russell, Rockwood, and Gimli	G. Paterson
1919	Manitoba	Royal Commission to Enquire into and Report upon the Causes and Effects of the General Strike which Recently Existed in the City of Winnipeg for a Period of Six Weeks, Including the Methods of Calling and Carrying on Such Strike[21][22][23]	Winnipeg general strike	Hugh Amos Robson
1945-1947	Manitoba	Royal Commission on Adult Education[24]	Adult education in Manitoba	A. W. Trueman
1957-1959	Manitoba	Royal Commission on Education[25]	Education in Manitoba, including higher education	R. O. MacFarlane
1958	Alberta	Royal Commission on the Development of Northern Alberta[26]	Development of Northern Alberta	J. G. MacGregory
1959	Alberta	Royal Commission on Education in Alberta[27]	Education in Alberta, including higher education	Donald Cameron
1963	Alberta	Royal Commission on Prearranged Funeral Services[28]	Prearranged Funeral Services	C.C. McLaurin
1967	Alberta	Royal Commission on Juvenile Delinquency[29]	Juvenile Delinquency in Alberta	Frank H. Quigley
1968	Quebec	Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec	Linguistic rights in Quebec	Jean-Denis Gendron
1988-1991	Manitoba	Aboriginal Justice Inquiry	1971 murder of Helen Betty Osborne and 1988 death of J.J. Harper	Alvin Hamilton and Murray Sinclair
1996-1998	Ontario	Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin (Kaufman Commission or Morin Inquiry)	Wrongful conviction in 1992 of Guy Paul Morin for the 1988 murder of Christine Jessop	Fred Kaufman
1999-2001	Manitoba	Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission	Implementing recommendations of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry	Wendy Whitecloud and Paul Chartrand
2003-2007	Ontario	Ipperwash Inquiry	1995 death of Dudley George	Sidney B. Linden
2004	Ontario	Rae Report	Higher education in Ontario	Bob Rae
2005	Ontario	Cornwall Inquiry	Allegations of abuse of young people in Cornwall, Ontario, by adults in positions of trust	G. Normand Glaude
2005-2006	Nova Scotia	Nunn Commission	The youth criminal justice system and the death of Theresa McEvoy	Merlin Nunn
2005-2008	Ontario	Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario (Goudge Inquiry)	Errors in several criminal investigations into suspicious deaths involving children	Stephen Goudge
2006-2007	Manitoba	Commission of Inquiry Into Certain Aspects of the Trial and Conviction of James Driskell	Wrongful conviction of James Driskell	Patrick LeSage
2007	Alberta	Alberta Royalty Review	Resource royalties collected from petroleum and natural gas companies	William M. Hunter
2008	Manitoba	Taman Inquiry into the Investigation and Prosecution of Derek Harvey-Zenk[30]	Case of Derek Harvey-Zenk	Roger Salhany
2009-2010	British Columbia	Braidwood Inquiry	Killing of Robert Dziekański	Thomas R. Braidwood
2010-2012	British Columbia	Missing Women Commission of Inquiry	Response of law enforcement to reports of missing and murdered women	Wally Oppal
2011	Quebec	Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry (Charbonneau Commission)	Potential corruption in the management of public construction contracts	France Charbonneau
2012-2013	Manitoba	Inquiry into the Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Phoenix Sinclair	Death of Phoenix Sinclair	Ted Hughes
2017	Ontario	Public Inquiry into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care Homes System	Case of Elizabeth Wettlaufer
2020-2021	Ontario	Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission[31]	How COVID-19 spread in long-term care and what was done to prevent it.	Frank N. Marrocco[32]

See also[edit]

• Public inquiry
• List of Canadian tribunals

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Privy Council Office: Commissions of Inquiry