Disclosure of Contracts for Legal Services

On March 23, 2004, the Government announced a new policy on the mandatory publication of contracts over $10,000. At the time, certain types of contracts were excluded from the proactive disclosure requirements, chief among these being contracts for legal services. TBS has revised the Treasury Board Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts to remove the exemption for contracts for legal services. Under the current guidelines, the only contracts exempted from proactive disclosure obligations are those where disclosure of information would compromise criminal investigations, national security, negotiations or public safety.

This Website provides information on legal agents appointed by the Minister of Justice and the related contracts for legal services issued by the Department of Justice. The general policy of the Department is that legal services within the department's statutory mandate should be handled by departmental counsel. The Department recognizes, however, that there are instances when such services may or should be outsourced to legal agents. The Department of Justice's Policy on Contracting for Legal Services and Legal Agent Appointments sets out the principles which guide the appointment of legal agents.

Every three months we will be reporting new legal agent appointments made by the Minister of Justice in the quarter being reported. By June 30th, following the last quarterly report for each fiscal year, a report will include the total annual expenditures by firm, based on amounts taxed by the Department, where the aggregate value of amounts taxed exceeds $10,000.00 in the fiscal year being reported. This approach balances the need for transparency and disclosure of contract information with the recognition that aspects of contracts for legal services are protected by solicitor-client privilege and litigation privilege. The overall disclosure is presented fairly, in all material respects and in accordance with TBS Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts.

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Last Updated October 20, 2025, 03:15 (UTC)
Created October 20, 2025, 03:15 (UTC)
Domain / Topic
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Title
Title for the Dataset.
Disclosure of Contracts for Legal Services
Description
A description of the dataset.

On March 23, 2004, the Government announced a new policy on the mandatory publication of contracts over $10,000. At the time, certain types of contracts were excluded from the proactive disclosure requirements, chief among these being contracts for legal services. TBS has revised the Treasury Board Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts to remove the exemption for contracts for legal services. Under the current guidelines, the only contracts exempted from proactive disclosure obligations are those where disclosure of information would compromise criminal investigations, national security, negotiations or public safety.

This Website provides information on legal agents appointed by the Minister of Justice and the related contracts for legal services issued by the Department of Justice. The general policy of the Department is that legal services within the department's statutory mandate should be handled by departmental counsel. The Department recognizes, however, that there are instances when such services may or should be outsourced to legal agents. The Department of Justice's Policy on Contracting for Legal Services and Legal Agent Appointments sets out the principles which guide the appointment of legal agents.

Every three months we will be reporting new legal agent appointments made by the Minister of Justice in the quarter being reported. By June 30th, following the last quarterly report for each fiscal year, a report will include the total annual expenditures by firm, based on amounts taxed by the Department, where the aggregate value of amounts taxed exceeds $10,000.00 in the fiscal year being reported. This approach balances the need for transparency and disclosure of contract information with the recognition that aspects of contracts for legal services are protected by solicitor-client privilege and litigation privilege. The overall disclosure is presented fairly, in all material respects and in accordance with TBS Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts.
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2019-02-19
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Open Government Licence - Canada
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Location
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https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/bdb15246-6350-4cba-a16b-5b2226aeec0d
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Owner
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Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice Canada
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[email protected]
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None
Source
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None
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Indigenous Community Permission
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