There are, generally speaking, three types of law:
- Legislation
A term used to describe laws as passed by Parliament and the provincial legislatures. Individual pieces of legislation are often called Acts or Statutes.
- Regulations
Regulations are a form of law, often referred to as delegated or subordinate legislation. They are made by persons or bodies to whom Parliament has delegated the authority to make them. Authority to make regulations are expressly delegated by an Act which is referred to as the enabling Act. The terms Rules or Orders may also be encountered. Regulations address details that operationalize or enable the implementation of legislation. An Accessibility law, for instance, may require that washrooms in public buildings be barrier free and will establish penalties for a failure to do so. A Regulation made under that law, however, will define the requirement to make a washroom barrier free (width of doors, placement of grab bars, turning spaces, etc.).
- Case Law
Case law is comprised of written decisions of courts and tribunals. The principle of stare decisis requires that judges follow the previous rulings (i.e. precedents) of higher courts in their province or territory and the Supreme Court of Canada. Decisions from the same level of court or other provinces or jurisdictions may also facto in in assisting judges to reach a decision. Case law is comprised of these decisions.
