Canada.
Canada's duties to help are narrow: the Criminal Code duty to provide necessaries covers dependents, while Quebec's Charter creates a general duty to assist a person whose life is in peril. Some provinces, such as British Columbia, protect people who give emergency aid, and federal law bars charging people who call for help in a drug overdose with simple possession. Federal programs include a donation tax credit, bravery decorations and the Canada Service Corps.
Is there a legal duty to help a stranger?
Varies by regionUnder Criminal Code section 215 the legal duty to provide necessaries of life covers a child under 16, a spouse or common-law partner, and a person under one's charge, not strangers in general. In Quebec, section 2 of the Charter of human rights and freedoms states that every person must come to the aid of anyone whose life is in peril, personally or by calling for aid, unless it involves danger to themselves or a third person or there is another valid reason.
Are people who help protected?
Varies by regionProtection is mostly provincial. British Columbia's Good Samaritan Act (RSBC 1996, c. 172) says a person who renders emergency medical services or aid at the immediate scene of an accident or emergency is not liable for damages unless grossly negligent. Federally, section 4.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act provides that a person who seeks emergency medical or law enforcement help for a medical emergency (an overdose) is not to be charged or convicted of simple possession under section 4(1) on evidence found as a result.
How the government promotes giving and service
One thing worth knowing
The Governor General's bravery decorations explicitly honor people who risked their lives for a loved one or a perfect stranger, and Quebec is the one province whose rights charter includes a general duty to assist a person in peril.
What this does not mean
Law differs by province and territory, and only provincial statutes checked here are British Columbia's and Quebec's. Ontario and other provinces have their own statutes that this guide did not verify, and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act has been amended recently. Nothing here is legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice, and it does not rank countries. No government named here has endorsed this site.