Bearing Institute Research
Original evidence for the legislative process.
We extract data directly from primary government sources, submit our findings to Parliament, and write our recommendations in language that can be tabled immediately. Our research is non-partisan, fully cited, and built for the people who need to act on it — parliamentary staff, Senators, journalists, and civil society organizations working on active legislation.
View our work below — or learn about us and contact the institute if you have a research question or policy area you would like us to examine.
Published papers
Two current publications, presented with key metadata and quick actions.
Bill C-9: The Combatting Hate Act
Alexis Roumanis, M.Pub. and Matthew Trenholm, MSc — March 18, 2026
Between 2010 and 2024, 771 children were sentenced under UK speech laws structurally similar to Bill C-9. This submission examines what Canada’s hate legislation risks producing — and what the Senate can do about it.
Bill C-223: An Act to amend the Divorce Act
Alexis Roumanis, M.Pub. — March 13, 2026
When courts cannot agree on what to call parental alienation, children pay the price. This submission examines how Bill C-223’s statutory language risks constraining judicial discretion in exactly the cases where it is needed most.
Bill S-5: The Connected Care for Canadians Act
Matthew Trenholm, MSc — April 6, 2026
Canada spends more on healthcare per capita than almost any peer nation yet delivers some of the worst access in the developed world. This submission supports Bill S-5 with six amendments targeting the structural crisis it leaves untreated.
PMB: BC Autism Funding Cuts: A Policy Analysis
Alexis Roumanis, M.Pub. — Coming Soon
BC’s decision to replace individualized autism funding with a broader disability benefit will leave roughly 10,000 children with less support — and 5,200 with none. This submission examines whether the new model meets the province’s own stated standard of equity for children with complex needs.
PMB: Democratic Mandate Integrity Act
Alexis Roumanis, M.Pub. — April 17, 2026
Five MPs crossed the floor. The Liberals went from minority to majority. Subtract those five and you get 169 seats — a minority. This is the first time in Canadian history a federal government switched from minority to majority between elections. This model bill gives every province and territory a constitutional tool to formally demand accountability and protect their residents from laws passed without a democratic mandate.
How to use this page
Research built for the legislative process — not the library shelf.
Our research is organized by topic area. Each paper includes a short summary, author names, submission date, and topic tag. Read online or download the PDF — and use the focus areas below to find what is relevant to your work.
Crime and Justice
Analysis of criminal law, sentencing, and justice-system performance — grounded in original primary-source data and written with clear legislative implications. Our submission on Bill C-9 drew on fifteen years of UK Ministry of Justice sentencing records extracted directly from government source files.
Free Expression
Research on speech law, symbols offences, and rights-based policy questions — focused on Charter-aware options and the real-world consequences of broadly worded criminal provisions.
Family Law
Analysis of parenting legislation, judicial discretion, and family justice reform — including the interaction between statutory language and complex relational dynamics such as parental alienation and neurodevelopmental vulnerability.
Legislative Submissions
Formal briefs submitted to parliamentary committees and regulatory processes, including proposed amendments in tabling-ready language. All submissions are timestamped and cross-referenced to the bill as debated.
What you’ll get from Bearing Institute research
- Named authors, date of submission, and topic tags — so you can assess relevance before you read a word.
- Original data drawn from primary government sources, with full citations designed to hold up in committee, in Hansard, and under media scrutiny.
- Specific, tabling-ready recommendations — not general observations, but amendments written in legislative language that can be acted on immediately.