Dear colleagues:

 

This email follows my earlier one on this subject. It explains how the Internet Archive (IA) works and provides two methods for accessing pre-1970 SCC decisions on archived versions of the SCC’s website. The explanation below is taken in substantial part from a standard-form affidavit used by the IA in court proceedings involving historic websites.

 

The Internet Archive (IA) is a website that provides access to a digital library of Internet sites and other digital texts and artifacts. Like a print-based library, it provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. It has partnered with and receives support from various institutions and libraries, including the Library of Congress, and also relies on private donations.

 

IA operates a service called the Wayback Machine that lets you browse more than 450 billion pages stored in the Internet Archive's web archive. Visitors to the Wayback Machine can search archives by URL (uniform resource locator—i.e., a web address). If archived records for a URL are available, the visitor will be presented with a display of available dates. The visitor may select one of those dates, and begin browsing an archived version of the Web. Links on archived files in the Wayback Machine point to other archived files (whether HTML pages or other file types), if any are found for the URL indicated by a given link. For instance, the Wayback Machine is designed such that when a visitor clicks on a hyperlink on an archived page that points to another URL, the visitor will see the archived file found for the hyperlink's URL with the closest available date to the initial file containing the hyperlink.

 

The IA assigns URLs to archived files in the form http://web.archive.org/web/[Year in yyyy][mm][dd][hh:mm:ss]/[Archived URL]. This is called an "extended URL." Thus, the extended URL http://web.archive.org/web/19970126045828/http://www.archive.org/ would be the URL for the record of the IA home page HTML file (http://www.archive.org/) archived on January 26, 1997 at 4:58 a.m. and 28 seconds (1997/01/26 at 04:58:28).

 

Considering this, I researched the SCC website on the IA and found that it has been extensively archived, including the sub-pages containing the SCC’s decisions and the underlying files, in both HTML and PDF format. Thus, rather than being “defunct,” as was asserted in an article referenced in my earlier email, the website and all of the decisions on it seem to still be intact and available, albeit in archived form and with limitations on certain functions, such as search engine capability. Below, I have set out two methods for accessing the Court’s pre-1970 decisions.

 

Method 1: Use Archived SCC Search Pages as Starting Point

This method provides limited functionality. You should be able to consult individual cases and go from one page of results to the next, but if you try to use the search engine, you’ll get a message saying that “the Wayback Machine has not archived that URL.” I’ve organized this by three-sub-methods: case name (alphabetical); SCR volume; and decision year. I’ve also provided the search pages in both English and French.

 

Find by case name:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230701231456/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/nav_alpha.do (English)

https://web.archive.org/web/20230702164853/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/fr/nav_alpha.do (French)

 

Find by SCR volume year:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230701231914/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/nav_re.do (English)

https://web.archive.org/web/20230702165130/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/fr/nav_re.do (French)

 

Find by decision year:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230701175139/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/nav_date.do (English)

https://web.archive.org/web/20230701193609/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/fr/nav_date.do (French)

 

Method 2: Use Archived SCC Search Pages, Indexed by Decision Year, as Starting Point

This method provides complete functionality if you know the year in which the SCC case was decided. On each page below, the decisions are listed in reverse chronological order for each year. The numbers shown in parentheses are the number of SCC decisions in that year. So, for example, the archived website for 1969 has 97 decisions. If you click on the link for 1969, you’ll see that the first decision in reverse chronological order (i.e., the last decision in 1969, issued 1969-12-22) is Child v Vancouver General Hospital, [1970] SCR 477. From there, you can either clink on the PDF icon to get the archived version of the decision in the Supreme Court Reports or click on the hyperlinked case name to see the HTML version.

 

You will also note from the extended URLs that the archiving is very recent, much of it done during September of this year. While speculative, this makes me wonder if someone, prescient of the potential “take-down,” was making sure that the resource would continue to be available.

 

1969 (97):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240721154748/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1969/nav_date.do

1968 (114):      https://web.archive.org/web/20240912224837/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1968/nav_date.do

1967 (97):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240914125240/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1967/nav_date.do

1966 (74):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909142712/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1966/nav_date.do

1965 (83):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240907150248/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1965/nav_date.do

1964 (77):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909144801/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1964/nav_date.do

1963 (94):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910112757/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1963/nav_date.do

1962 (80):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240520193326/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1962/nav_date.do

1961 (86):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910034757/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1961/nav_date.do

1960 (79):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240424124704/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1960/nav_date.do

1959 (89):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240420015912/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1959/nav_date.do

1958 (72):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240417222841/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1958/nav_date.do

1957 (72):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909224310/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1957/nav_date.do

1956 (80):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910112023/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1956/nav_date.do

1955 (76):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240720195900/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1955/nav_date.do

1954 (62):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240716072435/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1954/nav_date.do

1953 (62):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910113913/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1953/nav_date.do

1952 (50):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240914154328/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1952/nav_date.do

1951 (49):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909120755/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1951/nav_date.do

1950 (44):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910225408/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1950/nav_date.do

1949 (54):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909224609/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1949/nav_date.do

1948 (48):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909132112/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1948/nav_date.do

1947 (34):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909161801/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1947/nav_date.do

1946 (43):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909230925/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1946/nav_date.do

1945 (47):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240720132434/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1945/nav_date.do

1944 (55):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240717171120/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1944/nav_date.do

1943 (53):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240619142304/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1943/nav_date.do

1942 (47):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910060954/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1942/nav_date.do

1941 (47):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910095605/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1941/nav_date.do

1940 (58):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240908230707/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1940/nav_date.do

1939 (44):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240716062558/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1939/nav_date.do

1938 (44):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240915131537/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1938/nav_date.do

1937 (57):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240908233624/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1937/nav_date.do

1936 (47):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909170637/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1936/nav_date.do

1935 (48):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240913174018/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1935/nav_date.do

1934 (72):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240721040707/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1934/nav_date.do

1933 (71):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909122449/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1933/nav_date.do

1932 (70):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910121830/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1932/nav_date.do

1931 (82):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240912164612/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1931/nav_date.do

1930 (78):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240718234854/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1930/nav_date.do

1929 (83):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910015019/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1929/nav_date.do

1928 (92):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240912221426/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1928/nav_date.do

1927 (97):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240912221426/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1928/nav_date.do

1926 (68):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240914154526/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1926/nav_date.do

1925 (78):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910021839/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1925/nav_date.do

1924 (67):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240721221154/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1924/nav_date.do

1923 (47):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240719235015/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1923/nav_date.do

1922 (65):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240913181658/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1922/nav_date.do

1921 (63):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240417093211/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1921/nav_date.do

1920 (74):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909171051/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1920/nav_date.do

1919 (81):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909231856/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1919/nav_date.do

1918 (96):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240907150246/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1918/nav_date.do

1917 (79):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240620204714/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1917/nav_date.do

1916 (71):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240717153029/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1916/nav_date.do

1915 (62):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909220543/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1915/nav_date.do

1914 (59):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909224340/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1914/nav_date.do

1913 (56):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909224340/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1914/nav_date.do

1912 (51):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910130121/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1912/nav_date.do

1911 (63):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909141252/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1911/nav_date.do

1910 (65):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240724203132/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1910/nav_date.do

1909 (64):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910051755/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1909/nav_date.do

1908 (77):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909150829/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1908/nav_date.do

1907 (82):        https://web.archive.org/web/20231201061600/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1907/nav_date.do

1906 (72):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910010753/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1906/nav_date.do

1905 (82):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240723213705/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1905/nav_date.do

1904 (72):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910100150/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1904/nav_date.do

1903 (70):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910000518/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1903/nav_date.do

1902 (79):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910203530/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1902/nav_date.do

1901 (64):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910062153/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1901/nav_date.do

1900 (66):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240913172551/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1900/nav_date.do

1899 (70):        https://web.archive.org/web/20231205063311/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1899/nav_date.do

1898 (71):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240619132745/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1898/nav_date.do

1897 (81):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909183808/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1897/nav_date.do

1896 (70):        https://web.archive.org/web/20231207164402/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1896/nav_date.do

1895 (103):      https://web.archive.org/web/20240910150555/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1895/nav_date.do

1894 (70):        https://web.archive.org/web/20231205111459/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1894/nav_date.do

1893 (54):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910142910/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1893/nav_date.do

1892 (90):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909220037/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1892/nav_date.do

1891 (71):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910002817/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1891/nav_date.do

1890 (48):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910005954/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1890/nav_date.do

1889 (55):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240914144440/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1889/nav_date.do

1888 (43):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910233533/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1888/nav_date.do

1887 (44):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240720181508/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1887/nav_date.do

1886 (58):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240420001626/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1886/nav_date.do

1885 (46):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240909231641/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1885/nav_date.do

1884 (33):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910064731/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1884/nav_date.do

1883 (38):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910193446/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1883/nav_date.do

1882 (22):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240721032730/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1882/nav_date.do

1881 (28):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240724204637/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1881/nav_date.do

1880 (22):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240910113904/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1880/nav_date.do

1879 (34):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240420010121/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1879/nav_date.do

1878 (21):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240417083613/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1878/nav_date.do

1877 (21):        https://web.archive.org/web/20240424114141/https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/1877/nav_date.do

 

I hope this is of interest to some of you, and would welcome any feedback you might have on the usefulness (or lack thereof) of these methods.