1) What is Legislation? Show
The law in Canada is made of two parts: Case law and Legislation. Both are primary sources for Canadian law. 1) Introduction - What is Legislation?
2) Background to the Legislative Process in Canada
The Constitution
3) The Law-Making process: How Law is Created Introduction and Passage of a Bill
There are several types of bills:
Bills can found at:
4) How a Bill becomes Legislation/Statute and How it Comes into Force
A Statute may come into force in one of three ways:
In-force dates can be found in a number of sources: Federal
Ontario
For more information on the legislative process, consult any of the following excellent online guides:
5) Legislative Research GenerallyDo not start you research by looking at statutes. Always consult the secondary sources first and then you will have references to the most appropriate statutes at hand. Simply searching a statute database is inefficient and will waste time. Also keep in mind when researching that:
6) Finding Statutes and Regulations on Government Websites
Federal
Ontario
7) Finding Statutes and Regulations on CanLII
8) Other Sources of Statutes and Regulations
9) Finding and Updating Statutes and Regulations in Print Court rules require official versions of statutes or regulations be presented in court. The online statutes for Ontario, Quebec and the Federal governments have official status. For all the other provinces the official versions are published in print only. The instructions below refer to print statutes for the Federal and Ontario governments but these same steps will be applicable for the other Canadian jurisdictions as well.
Amending statutes can be located via legislative histories. Government websites which provide legislative histories for each statute, either within the statute or via a link to a "Legislative History" or a "Table of Public Statutes." Federal Statutes in Print Current official print versions of federal statutes are found in the most recent Revised Statutes of Canada (RSC 1985 in force on December 12, 1988) and in the annual volumes of the Statutes of Canada published after 1985. The RSC 1985 is comprised of:
Finding a Statute by Title
Finding a Statute by Subject
Updating a Federal Statute using the print sources: Use the Table of Public Statutes in the latest bound volume of the Statutes of Canada or in the Canada Gazette, Part III. Statutes are listed by short title. This cumulative table will refer to amendments of statutes found in RSC 1985, new statutes since 1985, and repeals of any statutes since RS.C. 1985.
Finding New Federal Legislation The full-text of all bills introduced during a current session of Parliament and not yet published in the annual statutes can be accessed from the LegisINFO Website. The Senate and the House of Common bills are listed by bill number and indicate their current status (i.e., first reading, second reading, etc.). If the bill has passed third reading, a date of royal assent is also included. LegislNFO also provides a wealth of background material including, major speeches to Parliament, press releases and background documents. Bills from previous sessions can be found at the Government of Canada Bills webpage. Ontario Statutes in Print Print Ontario statutes are found in the most recent Revised Statutes of Ontario, (RSO 1990, in force since January 1, 1992) and in the annual volumes (SO) published since that date. These volumes are sometimes referred to as "sessional volumes." Finding an Ontario Statute by Title
Finding an Ontario Statue by Subject
Updating an Ontario Statute using Print Resources
Finding New Ontario Legislation Current bills as well as links to status, in-force, debates and background material are available on the Government of Ontario's Website. B) Locating Regulations in PrintUnless otherwise specified, a federal regulation comes into force on the day it was registered. This date is noted both at the top of the text and in the Canada Gazette Part II. A regulation which is exempt from registration comes into force on the day it was made. Regulations that are not included in the CRC are cited as either SOR (Statutory Orders and Regulations or SI (Statutory Instruments) and are filed by date in the Gazette. Federal
The Consolidated Regulations of Canada, 1978 ("CRC") includes:
Finding Federal Regulations in Print Canada Gazette, Part II:
Updating a Federal Regulation using Print Resources
Ontario
The Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 include:
Finding and Updating Ontario Regulations in Print
10) Statutory Interpretation/Judicial ConsiderationInterpretation
Judicial Consideration (Noting up)
11) Parliamentary Debates and Committee Reports
12) Tracing Legislative History
What are the two main parts of the Canadian Constitution?The Constitution of Canada includes the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Constitution Act, 1982.
What is the most important legislation in Canada?The Constitution is the supreme law of Canada; all other laws must be consistent with the rules set out in it. If they are not, they may not be valid. Since the Charter is part of the Constitution, it is the most important law we have in Canada.
What piece of legislation brought about the creation of Canada?1867 - The Dominion of Canada is Created on July 1
Under the British North America Act, 1867, the Queen remained head of state, represented nationally in Canada by the Governor General and in each province by a Lieutenant Governor.
What is the name of legislation in Canada?The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of the country, and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act prior to 1982), affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments.
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