1. Researching Canadian Legislation Michelle Louise Atkin Subject Specialist for Law and Human Rights Frances Montgomery Documents Collection Specialist: Canadian federal documents Carleton University Library

2. Researching Canadian Legislation §This lecture will focus on how to find: l Bills l Statutes (including subsequent amendments) l Regulations

3. Things to consider before you begin… §Identify the level of government that has jurisdiction over the area l Is it an area of Federal or Provincial jurisdiction l The Constitution Act, 1867 s. l Distribution of Legislative Powers §What pieces of information do you already have? l Subject, number, year, sponsor, etc.

4. Bills §Bill are legislative proposals §Stages before a bill become law l 1st reading l 2nd reading (place for debate and amendments) l Bill sent to Committee for study of specific provisions l Report stage (Committee presents results to House) l 3rd reading l (Federal Bill proceeds to Senate and goes through same process) l Royal assent l Proclamation date (Bill transformed from proposal to law)

5. Bills Continued… §Federal §Bill can be introduced by either the House Commons or the Senate §C or an S is used to denote whether they originated in the Commons or the Senate §Bill numbers l Public Bills (Government Bills): introduced by Minister): C-2 - C-200 l Private Members Bills: C-201 - C-1000 l Private Bills: C-1001 and up  When a bill becomes a law it receives a new number §Provincial §Bill are of two types: Public or Private l Public Bills: Introduced by Cabinet Minister l Private Bills:Introduced by an MPP §When a bill becomes a law it receives a new number

6. Bills Continued… §When researching a bill, it may be useful to consult the Debates and Committees in order to get a sense of what the issues were surrounding the passage or death of a particular bill.

7. Bills on the Web §Federal l LEGISINFO (leg. after Jan. 1, 2001) Text of bill, major speeches, status of bill, votes, CIF information, departmental information, summary, and further readings. §Ontario l Legislative Assembly of Ontario (leg. after Sept. 26, 1995) Text of bills, status of bill, debates, CIF information, list of acts affected, links to ministry and other background material

8. Statutes §Statutes l The written laws approved by legislatures, parliaments or houses of assembly (i.e., politicians). Also known as ”legislation". -Duhaime’s Law Dictionary

9. Statute Indexes §Revised Statutes of Canada l Index to the R.S.C. 1985 §Revised Statutes of Ontario l Index to the R.S.O. 1990

10. Locating Statutes §Things to keep in mind: l Annual Statutes l Consolidated Statutes (electronic versions are rolling consolidations) l Revised Statutes (R.S.C. 1985, R.S.O. 1990) §Paper v. Electronic l Paper version is the official document

11. Updating a Statute §Questions to consider: l Is the act in force? l Has it been updated since the last consolidation? i.e. R.S.C. or R.S.O §Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers l alphabetical list of statutes and the Minister responsible for them l shows what has happened to an act over time - this is your one stop shopping for amendments §Gazette’s §Statute Citator’s

12. Check for Relevant Regulations §Execution of a power conferred by or under the authority of an act l Governor in Council §Available electronically through Justice site or E-Laws, can be found in the paper versions of applicable Gazette

13. Still need help? §Feel free to contact us: l Reference Services Michelle Atkin michelle_atkin@carleton.ca l MADGIC Frances Montgomery frances_montgomery@carleton.ca