Secondary Sources – The CED Online

Using WestlawNext Canada, you can search the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest. The electronic version of the CED combines Ontario and Western editions, so be sure to consult the correct jurisdiction whenever applicable!

The CED can be browsed by clicking on a listed subject title and narrower headings that appear on the following pages until you are at the desired selection. Note that the "Currency" heading that appears at the top of the page after selecting the initial subject title lets you know how "up-to-date" the information is, as well as including a list of related subject-titles.

You can search the full-text of the CED by choosing "select all content"; or you can choose specific subject titles for a more field-specific search. Then, use the search bar at the top of the page to perform a keyword search. Note that this can be used to enter search terms, citations and more. For instance, if you have a case citation, you can check to see if it is mentioned in the CED by entering it here and clicking "Search".

To perform an advanced search in the CED, click on "advanced" next to the search button. Here, many of the Boolean operators are already built in. Once you have entered your terms in the appropriate search boxes, so... property... tax or finance, you can choose the minimum frequency of each term. So it has to appear at least that many times in the document. The full search string will appear in the search box at the top of the page. You can also limit your search to either the Ontario or Western edition. And there are your results.