Anaya Nolan
The Canadian legal system is pluralistic, with foundations in English common law, French civil law, and Indigenous law. The Constitution of Canada, which includes the Constitution Act of 1982 and the Constitution Act of 1867, is the country's supreme law. The process of law-making in Canada is complex and involves the coordinated efforts of many individuals, including government officials and members of Parliament. Before a law is enacted, it begins as a bill, which can be a government bill, a private member bill, a private senator's bill, a public bill, or a private bill. Once a bill is introduced in Parliament, it undergoes legislative planning and management, including post-enactment review, before becoming an Act. An Act receives the force of law upon Royal Assent, unless the Act specifies that it will come into force at a later date. The Justice Laws Website publishes the text of Acts and regulations, providing access to federal laws in both English and French.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Law-making process | The law-making process involves transforming policy into Federal Acts and regulations, adhering to the principles and policies of the legal system. |
| Law-making roles | Participants in the law-making process include the Cabinet, Ministers, Government officials, and the Clerk of the Privy Council. |
| Legislative framework | The Constitution, basic laws, and the Cabinet Directive on Law-making provide the framework for law-making. |
| Legislative planning | The process includes legislative planning, management, and post-enactment review, with checklists, templates, and phase-specific information. |
| Legislative sources | The Canada Gazette, an official government newspaper since 1841, publishes regulations, Acts, proposed regulations, appointments, and notices. |
| Legislative research | The Canada Gazette and the Justice Laws Website are essential tools for legislative research, providing access to bills, debates, committee information, and background materials. |
| Legislative stages | A bill must pass through multiple stages in the House of Commons and the Senate to become law, including readings, committee reviews, and amendments. |
| Legislative approval | Royal Assent, given by the Governor General or their deputy, completes the enactment process, and the bill receives a chapter number for the Statutes of Canada. |
| Legislative amendments | The federal government creates amending Acts or regulations to make changes to existing laws without rewriting them. |
| Legislative types | Legislation, or statute law, includes acts and statutes created by elected representatives. It is one of the two main types of primary law in Canada, along with case law. |
| Legislative powers | The power to make laws is divided between the federal and provincial governments, as outlined in the Constitution Act, which includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. |
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The legislative process
In Canada, the legislative process involves the drafting, debate, and passage of bills into law. The process begins with the introduction of a bill in one of the Houses of Parliament (either the House of Commons or the Senate). The bill is then discussed by members of both Houses during the First, Second, and Third Readings, and is also submitted to a Parliamentary Committee for review. The Committee seeks the views of interested parties, including the public, and proposes amendments to the bill. Following this, the bill is sent back to the House for further debate and potential amendments. This is followed by a vote on the final version of the bill. If the bill is adopted, it moves to the Senate for review, where a similar process is followed. If amendments are suggested by the Senate, both Houses must agree on the same version of the bill before it can receive Royal Assent.
Royal Assent is one of the oldest parliamentary proceedings and brings together the three constituent parts of Parliament: the Crown, the Senate, and the House of Commons. It is the final stage of the enactment of a bill and is required for a bill to officially become an Act of Parliament. Royal Assent may be granted through a written declaration procedure or the traditional Royal Assent ceremony. Once a bill has received Royal Assent, it becomes a statute and is transformed from a bill into a law. The law comes into force on the day of Royal Assent unless the Act provides otherwise, in which case, it may come into force on a specified date or be determined by the Governor in Council.
Overall, the legislative process in Canada involves a series of readings, committee reviews, debates, and votes in both the House of Commons and the Senate, culminating in Royal Assent and the transformation of a bill into a law, or an Act of Parliament.
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Royal Assent
In Canada, a bill must be approved by both houses of Parliament—the Senate and the House of Commons—to become a federal law. After a bill is passed by both houses, it is sent to the Governor General for Royal Assent. Royal Assent is the approval by the Sovereign of a bill that has been adopted by both houses of Parliament in identical form. It is the process by which a bill becomes an Act of Parliament and part of Canadian law.
The Royal Assent ceremony in Canada is based on British tradition. Until 2002, Royal Assent could only be given through a traditional ceremony in the Senate Chamber. Since June 2002, bills have been granted Royal Assent by written declaration as provided for in the Royal Assent Act. However, the Act mandates that a traditional ceremony be held at least twice each year and for the first appropriation bill of each session of Parliament.
The Royal Assent ceremony involves the three components of Parliament: the Sovereign, the Senate, and the House of Commons. The sitting of the Senate is suspended a few minutes before the Governor General's arrival. The Speaker of the Senate leaves the chair, and the mace—a symbol of the authority of the monarch—is taken off the table and held by the mace-bearer. After the Governor General's procession enters the Senate Chamber, the Speaker commands the Usher of the Black Rod to inform the House of Commons that the Governor General desires their presence. A clerk at the table then reads the titles of the bills to be assented to in both official languages. The Governor General signifies assent by a nod, which is announced by the Clerk of the Parliaments. If there are supply bills, the Speaker of the House of Commons addresses the Governor General and reads the titles of these bills, after which the Governor General again signifies assent. Following this, the Speaker and members of the House of Commons withdraw, and the Governor General leaves the Senate Chamber. The Speaker of the Senate resumes their chair, the mace is returned to the table, and the sitting of the Senate resumes.
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Types of bills
In Canada, a bill is a legislative proposal that is introduced, or tabled, in the federal House of Commons, the Senate, or in the provincial legislature. It can be introduced by a member of the government or another sitting member. A bill must go through several stages to be considered and, if it passes all of them, it will become a statute or law.
There are two main types of bills: public and private. Public bills deal with matters of public policy under federal jurisdiction. Private bills, on the other hand, confer particular powers, benefits, or exemptions upon a specific person or group of persons. They concern matters of a private nature or are of special interest to specific corporations or individuals. Private bills are less common and are usually first introduced in the Senate.
Private members' bills are introduced by any individual member who is not a minister. These fall into two categories: public bills and private bills. Government bills, on the other hand, are introduced by a minister, such as the Minister of Education. Only government bills can call for the expenditure of public money. Private members' proposals can take the form of a bill, a motion, or a notice of motion for the production of papers. A notice of motion for the production of papers is a request for the government to compile and produce certain papers or documents and table them in the House.
Bills are assigned a number, with government bills in the federal system usually numbered from 2 to 199, and private members' bills numbered from 200 to 999. Federally, bills starting with "C-" are first tabled in the House of Commons, while "S-" denotes those tabled in the Senate. Provincially and territorially, there are just bill numbers.
Once a bill passes into law, it is assigned a chapter number in the Annual Statutes. The process is essentially the same across all legislatures in Canada, with some differences between the federal and provincial/territorial systems. For example, the federal Parliament has both a House of Commons and a Senate, while the provincial and territorial legislatures only have one sitting body, generally called a legislature or assembly.
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The Canada Gazette
In Canada, before a law is enacted, it begins as a bill. The Canada Gazette is the official newspaper of the Government of Canada and has been published since 1841. It informs Canadians about government operations and involves them in the legislative process. It includes statutes, new and proposed regulations, administrative board decisions, and public notices. The Canada Gazette is an essential research tool for finding information on legislation before Parliament and researching legislative intent. It has all the materials surrounding the enactment of a bill, such as bill status, links to debates and committees, and background materials like press releases, reports, and legislative summaries.
Structurally, the Gazette is published in three parts. Part I is published each Saturday and contains public notices, official appointments, and proposed regulations, as well as miscellaneous notices from the private sector that are required to be published by federal statute or by regulations. Part II was published every other Wednesday and includes regulations: Statutory Instruments (SI) and Statutory Orders of Regulation (SOR). Part III is published with the text of any new laws immediately after they have received Royal Assent and was first published in 1974. Starting from January 1998, all publications other than Part III are considered unofficial.
From its inception in 1841 until 1998, the Gazette was published only in print. From 1998 until April 1, 2014, it was published in print and online, with the online version having the same official status as the printed version starting in 2003. Since April 1, 2014, it has only been published online to satisfy a Government of Canada requirement to make "electronic publishing its new standard for all documents".
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Amending Acts
In Canada, a bill is the text of a legislative initiative submitted to Parliament to be approved and possibly amended before becoming law. An Act has the force of law upon Royal Assent, unless it is provided in the Act that it will come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council (Cabinet).
A consolidated Act or regulation is one that has been updated and incorporates the amendments into the original text. The Justice Laws Website provides a consolidation, or updated version, of the federal Acts and regulations maintained by the Department of Justice. This allows the public to view the state of the law without having to carry out research and put together the various amended provisions. The Justice Laws Website generally reflects the consolidated law as it was approximately 2-3 weeks before the present calendar date. It is updated every two weeks and includes Annual Statutes, a collection of the Public General Acts in the form in which they were originally enacted by Parliament in a given calendar year.
When a member of the House of Commons has a proposal for an amendment, they should access the legislative drafting services offered by lawyers in the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel. The legislative counsel will draft amendments confidentially and in both official languages. Once drafted, the report stage motions (amendments) will be sent to the member, who can then decide whether to proceed with them.
Any amendment must be relevant or pertinent to the subject matter of the bill or to the clause under consideration. Amendments may alter the principle and scope of the bill when a bill is referred to a committee before the second reading. However, any amendment that goes beyond the scope of the bill is inadmissible. Amendments proposed in committee to delete a clause are also inadmissible, as the proper course of action is to vote against the clause.
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Frequently asked questions
In Canada, a bill is a draft law that has not yet been approved by both the House of Commons and the Senate, and by the Governor General of Canada (the Crown). An act, on the other hand, is a law that has received Royal Assent and has the force of law.
For a bill to become an act in Canada, it must first be introduced into Parliament and go through three readings in the House of Commons and three readings in the Senate. After the second reading, a legislative committee is set up to study the bill and recommend whether it should be adopted, amended, or dropped. The final stage is for the bill to receive Royal Assent, at which point it becomes an act.
Canada has had two systems of law since the Quebec Act of 1774: common law and civil law. Common law applies throughout Canada in matters of government law, while private legal relationships are governed by civil law in Quebec and by common law elsewhere.
The Canada Gazette is the official newspaper of the Government of Canada, published since 1841. It contains regulations and public Acts of Parliament, proposed regulations, official appointments, and public notices. It is a useful tool for finding information on legislation before Parliament and researching legislative intent.
