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Although the Canadian guide to Uniform Legal Citation entitles this section legislation, only a few of the legislative items are not statutes of some sort. The non-statutory items consist of municipal by-laws (usually called ordinances in the United States), rules of court, regulations, information other than regulations published in Gazettes (usually called registers in the United States), and the codes of Quebec (which, although not termed statutes, in fact are statutes in the broad sense of the word).

Statutes: The unqualified term statute refers to the laws passed by Parliament, the national legislature of Canada established in Britain by the British North American Act of 1867. It consists of two houses: an appointed Senate and an elected House of Commons. The 104 senators are chosen by the prime minister with the approval of the governor-general to serve until age 75. (Those appointed before 1965 may serve for life). The 295 members of the House are elected. A general election must be called at least once every five years, although the House can be dissolved at any time by the government with the approval of the governor-general. A complicated formula reflecting population figures allocates the number of seats in the Senate and House among the various regions and provinces to ensure a balance of local interests. The prime minister and most of the cabinet are members of the House. Tradition decrees that, if a government loses the support of a majority of the House, it must surrender power or call a general election. The extent of Parliament's authority is defined by the British Constitution Act of 1982. It may pass laws governing a wide range of issues including defense, banking, crime, broadcasting, and other such matters that involve the general welfare of Canadians. It may also act in areas of jurisdiction shared with the provinces, such as immigration, agriculture, and social policy. Areas under the purview of the provinces, and excluded from the reach of parliament, include education and municipal matters.

Nine elements compose a full citation to a Canadian statute:

• If a session spans more than one year, then cite the full span: e.g., 1984-85-86.
• If there is more than one session in a single year, then place an ordinal number before the abbreviation Sess: e.g., 1stSess., 2dSess., 3dSess.

• The phrase "as am. by" appears between the original act and the amending act. You need include the title of the amending act only if it is different from the original act. Ordinarily, the amending act tells you this information with the words "An Act to Amend .  .  ."
• When referring specifically to the amending act itself, place the word "amending" before it and after the act it amends.
• The phrase "as rep. by" appears between the original act and the act that repealed it. You need include the title of the repealing act only if it fails to include the name of the original act.
• When referring specifically to the repealing act itself, place the word "repealing" before it and after the act it repeals.

A comma follows the end of the citation to the statute being amended or appealed. If this element concludes the citation, then a period follows.

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This term may sound a bit strange to the ears of citizens of the United States, but it has a perfectly rational basis. Unlike the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Canada originates in the legislature of the United Kingdom. (The U.K. comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.) Beginning with the kingdom of England, it was created by three acts of union: with Wales (1536), Scotland (1707), and Northern Ireland (1800). Consequently, these citation for the Constitution of Canada follows the rules of style for the United Kingdom.

Place pinpoint section references (usually section numbers) after the chapter numbers.

The Constitution Act of 1982, part of the 1982 Canada Act, gave the Canadian government total authority over its constitution. Previously, the British North America Act of 1867 and subsequent laws had reserved some constitutional authority with the British Parliament.

Place pinpoint section references (usually section numbers) immediately after the title of the act.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, added by the passage of the 1982 Constitution Act to the country's constitution, guarantees Canadian citizens certain fundamental freedoms, such as those of conscience and the press. It also guarantees democratic rights to vote and seek election as well as rights to move throughout Canada, to enjoy security of person, and to combat discrimination. The charter changed the Canadian political system by giving the courts what in the United States is called judicial review. The courts, that is, were given the power to make or unmake laws through judicial decisions. Unlike the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution of the United States, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also contains a so-called "notwithstanding" clause, which allows Parliament and the provincial legislatures to pass laws that might clash with a charter provision.

Place pinpoint section references (usually section numbers) immediately after the title of the act.

The British Parliament passed the British North America Act in March of 1867 and established the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. It was the first time a colony had achieved responsible government without leaving the empire. The new nation was a federation of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Québec (previously called Lower Canada), and Ontario (previously called Upper Canada). Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland did not join for nearly a century.

Place pinpoint section references (usually section numbers) after the chapter numbers.

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All elements in the citation for a bill are separate by a comma. The title is displayed in italics and is never shortened. The number of a bill originating in the federal house is preceded by a C and in the senate by an S. The subdivision of a bill--which will become sections if the bill is passed--are called clauses and a abbreviated cl. for one clause and cls. for more than one. Here are two examples, one for a bill in a provincial legislature (New Brunswick) and one for a bill in the senate of the federal Parliament.

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Federal regulations are of two types: revised (consolidated) and not revised, which were passed prior to consolidation. Those not revised use the abbreviation SOR, which stands for Statutory Orders and Regulations, and it is not necessary to use the title. The consolidated regulations are found in Part II of the Canada Gazette.

The power of computer expressions can be seen in the usage of the virgule (i.e., the slash or the /). The hyphen traditionally for centuries has indicated through (e.g., 1692-1756) or and (e.g., secretary-treasurer) and the virgule has indicated or (e.g., fourth/fifth means fourth or fifth). Today, the virgule has taken on many of the duties of the hyphen, and this usurpation has cause some confusion that may not be clarified in the near future. The first example below does not include the title, which is optional, but the second does.

Abbreviate Consolidated Regulations of Canada to C.R.C. Listing the year is optional because as assumption exists that, unless stated otherwise, the citation refers to the latest revision. The first example below contains a pinpoint citation to a section, but second example does not.

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Alberta: The double digit number following the virgule represents the year.

British Columbia: The double digit number following the virgule represents the year. There is no revised edition for British Columbia.

Manitoba: The double digit number following the virgule represents the year. Most of Manitoba's regulations were re-enacted in English and French in 1987 and 1988. Add R. at the end of a citation for re-enacted Manitoba regulations.

Man. Reg. 98/90.

Man. Reg. 203/87 R.

New Brunswick: The double digit number following the hyphen represents the year. The second example below includes a pinpoint citation to a section.

N.B. Reg. 90-119.

N.B. Reb. 89-104, s. 10.

Newfoundland: The double digit number following the virgule represents the year. The second example below includes a pinpoint citation to a section.

Nfld. Reg. 112/90

Nfld. Reg. 256/90, s.5.

Northwest Territories: Revised regulations are indicated with the abbreviation R.R. at the beginning of the citation and a c. for chapter at the end. The double digit number following the hyphen represents the year for those regulations not revised. The revised regulations wisely include all four digits of the year.

N.W.T. Reg. 063-91

R.R. N.W.T. 1990, c. A-10.

Nova Scotia: The double digit number following the virgule represents the year. The second example below includes a pinpoint citation to a section.

N.S. Reg. 211/90.

N.S. Reg. 131/91, s. 10.

Ontario: The double digit number following the virgule represents the year.

O. Reg. 45/91.

O. Reg. 10/91.

Prince Edward Island: Although the title of the regulation is optional, it is usually included in the citation. The double digit number following the virgule represents the year. Because the second example below does not include the title, the parentheses are dropped.

Environmental Protection Act Water Well Regulations (EC188/90).

EC346/89.

Quebec: The abbreviation O.C. stands for Order in Council and G.O.Q. for the official Gazette of Quebec, which, in Quebec, of course, is written in French (Gazette officielle du Québec). The revised regulations are abbrevised R.R.Q. for Revised Regulations of Quebec. No title is used for regulations not revised and the title of the regulation is optional for those revised.

Not revised:

O.C. 646-91, 8 May 1991, G.O.Q. 1991.II.1695.

O.C. 826-90, 13 June 1990, G.O.Q. 1990.II.2445.

Revised:

Regulations respecting the quality of the atmosphere, R.R.Q., 1981, c. Q-2, r.-20.

Regulations respecting fiscal administration, R.R.Q. 1981, c.M-31, r.1.

Saskatchewan: For regulations not revised, the double digit number following the virgule represents the year. For revised regulations use the abbreviation R.R.S. at the beginning of the citation. The order of elements places the chapter number first, the regulation number second, and the Gazette reference third.

Not revised:

Sask. Reg. 49/91.

Sask. Reg. 66/90.

Revised:

R.R.S. c. W-13.1, Reg. 49, Sask. Gaz. 1991.II.423.

R.R.S. c. E-0.1, Reg. 10, Sask. Gaz. 1990.II.563.

Yukon Territory: The number following the virgule is the number of the regulation, and the number before it is the year. The abbreviation O.I.C. stands for Order in Council.

Yukon O.I.C. 1991/141.

Yukon O.I.C. 1984/171.

(Return to list of legislation citation styles summarized on this page.)

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