Ideally, references to case law can be found from secondary sources or research tools. Most of the regulations on our website are referenced in accordance with their enabling laws; However, you can browse the alphabetical list of regulations. If you know the name of the enabling legislation, search for the legislation first and then click on the link. Scroll down to find a list of “Regulations made under this Act” and click on the “Regulations” link. The search page is available if you know the specific name of the Regulations or its PRO identifier (e.g. SOR/95-245). Our collection also includes regulations that do not have enabling legislation and are considered non-legislative powers. Use the table of public statutes in the latest bound volume of the Statutes of Canada or in the Canada Gazette, Part III. The articles of association are classified according to abbreviated titles. This cumulative table refers to legislative amendments made in the 1985 CRA, new Acts since 1985 and repeals of Acts since the CRA. 1985. Updating a Federal Act Using Print Sources: The two main sources of Canadian law are legislation (also called statutes or statutes) and jurisprudence (also known as judgments or court decisions).
In the legal context, these are considered primary sources and have the force of law. Decisions from Commonwealth countries, with the exception of England, are also often regarded as convincing sources of law in Canada. The full text of all bills that have been introduced during a current parliamentary session and that have not yet been published in the annual statutes can be found on the LegisINFO website. The Senate and House of Joint Bills are classified by law 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 offers a wealth of background materials, including important speeches to Parliament, press releases and briefing materials. The Department of Justice does not maintain provincial legislation on its website. Contact your provincial or territorial Department of Justice listed under Useful Links. In legal research, secondary sources are often considered the best place to start researching a legal topic. They provide the invaluable interpretation and summary of the large amount of primary sources. Laws passed by the Canadian Parliament and provincial legislatures are the main sources of law in Canada.
Sections 91 and 94A of the Constitution Act, 1867 set out matters of exclusive federal jurisdiction, while sections 92, 92A and 94 define areas of exclusive provincial legislation. Section 95 defines areas of concurrent federal and provincial jurisdiction. [19] Don`t start your research by looking at laws. Always consult secondary sources first and you will then have references to the most appropriate laws at hand. Simply searching a legal database is inefficient and time-consuming. In order to find the relevant text of the Statute, you must ensure (if you are looking at a past event) that you are looking at the version of the Statute that was in effect at the time of the event. Otherwise, you will need to find the most recent version of the statuses with all their changes and additions. Also, you need to write the law by locating the cases that interpreted that law to make sure it is still a good law.
Current data can be found in a number of sources: secondary sources are scientific journal articles, legal commentaries and annotations, treatises, textbooks and books, encyclopedia entries, non-academic articles and other sources. Secondary sources differ in their degree of persuasion when applied in a legal environment. The Constitution Act, 1867 assigns powers to the provincial and federal governments. Matters under federal jurisdiction include criminal law, commerce and industry, banking and immigration. [11] The federal government also has residual power to pass laws necessary for the “peace, order and good government” of Canada. [12] One of the most important areas of provincial jurisdiction is property and civil rights, which include broad powers to make laws of a civil nature, such as property law, contract law and family law. Provincial jurisdiction includes other matters such as natural resources, hospitals, communities, education (except education on First Nations reserves). [11] [13] To find a specific law, use our law search or consult our alphabetical list of laws.
You can also consult the Table of Private Statutes, a historical index of all private statutes in Canada, with the exception of those relating to divorces enacted since 1867 and appearing in the Statutes of Canada from 1867 to December 31, 1997. If you require historical information on specific statutes, we recommend that you consult the table of public statutes, which contains useful details such as coming-into-force dates and the ministers involved, as well as a detailed list of amendments, including repealed sections. In Canada, the law consists of two parts: case law and legislation. Both are primary sources for Canadian law.