Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 5th Edition + E-Book

Now in its fifth edition, Public Health Law and Policy in Canada provides a timely and comprehensive analysis of the legal foundations of public health in Canada, shaped profoundly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Edited by leading health law scholars Jacob J. Shelley, C. Tess Sheldon and Ubaka Ogbogu, and featuring a wide range of expert contributions, this edition continues to be the leading resource on the evolving relationship between law, policy, and public health.

More than a simple update, this edition reflects a significant shift: a reimagining of public health law that challenges the dominance of Western legal traditions and centres equity, human rights, and systemic transformation. It critically explores contemporary public health issues – including mental health, disability, pharmaceutical regulation, bodily integrity, and Indigenous health – while highlighting the impacts of systemic racism, colonialism, and ableism on health outcomes.

Contributors adopt interdisciplinary and community-informed approaches, examining how law can either perpetuate harm or become a tool for healing and justice. Themes such as governance innovation, structural determinants of health, and the inclusion of Indigenous legal traditions are explored with analytical depth and urgency.

Essential for practitioners, policymakers, academics, and students, this edition is both a definitive legal reference and a bold call to action. It repositions public health law not merely as a regulatory framework, but as a powerful means to promote social justice, advance health equity, and build a more inclusive and resilient society.

What’s New In This Edition

• Additional content and insight from new contributors
• Discussion of key case law since the previous edition published in 2019
• Knowledge from more than 25 leading voices, including prominent practitioners and professors who are public health law and policy experts
• A revamped layout that resonates with the COVID-19 era
• New approaches to discussing, interpreting and shaping the connection between law and public health, embracing contemporary legal challenges and diverse viewpoints

Who Should Read This Book

• Lawyers and in-house counsel in medical and health law and/or hospitals who need up-to-date information on current public health law and policy matters
• Government officials who need to understand and develop public health policy
• Health care professionals working in public health who need guidance on how to navigate the legal and ethical issues of emerging public health problems
• Law, medical and public health students who need an overview of the foundations of the public health law system and the critical issues it currently faces
• Law libraries and associations who need a practical point of reference for their patrons

General Editors
Jacob J. Shelley
C. Tess Sheldon
Ubaka Ogbogu

Contributors
Anu Bakshi
Nicole Jasmin Balthazar
Daniel Bastien
Stéphane Bernatchez
Joan Braun
Tania Bubela
Marie-Eve Couture-Ménard
Jennifer Fehr
Marilou Gagnon
Kayla Gauthier
Stephanie Gellatly
Vanessa Gruben
Elaine Hyshka
Dr. Irehobhude O. Iyioha
Dr. Beverley Jacobs
Brendan Jowett
Christina Lee
Ravi Malhotra
Melanie McPhail
Alycia Nicoll
Robin Nobleman
Dixson Pushparagavan
Nabila F. Qureshi
Ezinwanne Raymond
Joshua Shaw
Rami Shoucri
Maxwell J. Smith
Heath Soave
Jennifer Stone