A fuller explanation will be found on the Details page of this guide.
- Act
A bill which has passed parliament and received Royal Assent. It may not yet be in force.
- Bill
A proposed Act of Parliament. Bills are numbered consecutively within one of three series (Government, Private Members' Public, and Private) in the order in which they are introduced. Those that pass parliament and receive Royal Assent become law and are assigned chapter numbers in the Statutes of Canada.
- Case Law
Case law is made up of the written decisions of judges in court cases and tribunals.
- Chapter
Acts of Parliament are assigned chapter numbers in the Statutes of Canada. The number is assigned in the order in which an Act receives Royal Assent. When the Statutes are periodically gathered together and codified or consolidated as Revised Statutes, they are then assigned new chapter numbers in the Revised Statutes. These numbers are alphanumeric and based on the name of the consolidated act.
- Coming into Force (CIF)
The date on which a law becomes enforceable is the date on which it 'comes into force.'
- Legislation
A term used to describe laws as passed by Parliament and the provincial legislatures. Individual pieces or legislation are often called Acts or Statutes.
- Not In Force
Acts, once passed, may not yet have the force of law. Such Acts are 'not in force' and will come into force only upon the issuance of a Statutory Instrument (SI) bringing them into force.
- Private Act
A Private Act is a law aimed at a specific individual or private institution.
- Public General Act
A Public General Act is a law that has general (universal) applicability and is of a permanent nature.
- Regulation
A term used to describe laws made by individuals (office holders or bodies) who have been authorized to make regulations, usually by statutory authority. Regulations are also, in some cases, referred to as Rules, By-Laws, and Orders. Delegated Legislation is an umbrella term used to reflect the fact that Regulations are made by someone to whom the authority to make them has been delegated by a higher body (usually by Statute).
- Revised Statutes of Canada (RSC)
From time to time, the Public General Acts on the books are gathered together, consolidated, and published as Revised Statutes.
- Royal Assent
Acts that pass Parliament are assented to ('receive Royal Assent') but the Sovereign or her/his representative (the Governor General).
- Short Title
The title by which an Act is cited and which is used to trace and update it. The Short Title is normally found in section 1 of the Act.
- Statute
The written laws approved by legislatures, parliaments or houses of assembly are called Statutes. Formerly, the term was used for the one single law drawn up at the end of a parliamentary session containing all the Acts passed during that session. The one single law was known as a Statute, the individual Acts in it were chapters, and the entire series was known as the Statutes.
- Statutes of Canada (SC)
Laws passed in a year are first published in the Canada Gazette, Part III. At the end of the year (previously, the session) gathered together and published as the annual Statutes of Canada.
- Statutory Instruments (SI)
Statutory Instrument is an umbrella term describing any rule, order, regulation, or proclamation issued under the authority of an Act of Parliament or under the authority of the Governor in Council. Regulations (SORs) and Coming Into Force proclamations are the two most commonly encountered Statutory Instruments.
- Statutory Order and Regulations (SOR)
Regulations. Also referred to as delegated or subordinate legislation. Authority to make regulations must be expressly delegated by an Act which is referred to as the enabling Act.
