Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between a statute, a law and a regulation?
2. Where do I find federal statutes and regulations on the Internet?
3. Where do I obtain statutes and regulations in printed form?
4. Where can I obtain a listing of provincial statutes and regulations?
5. What is a government Bill?
6. Where can I obtain a federal court decision on a specific litigation?
7. Where can one find a copy of the Charter or the Canadian constitution?
8. I want to know more about the Canadian Justice System, where can I find information?
9. Where can I obtain information pertaining to mandatory Child Support?
10. Does the federal government provide citizens with legal assistance?
1. What is the difference between a statute, a law and a regulation?
The meanings of a "law" and a "statute" are synonymous. A regulation, however, provides details that is not found in the statute in the form of: definitions, licensing requirements, performance specification, exemptions, forms, etc.
2. Where do I find federal statutes and regulations on the Internet?
All primary links regarding federal statutes and regulations can be found on Laws of Canada.
Most regulations on our site are referenced according to their enabling statute. If you know the name of the enabling statute, you can use our Laws search or consult our alphabetical listing of statutes and select the regulations link located besides the different available formats to access the statute's underlying regulations.
If you are searching for recent legislation which has not yet been posted to this online collection of federal statutes and regulations, we suggest you visit the Canada Gazette, which publishes legislation that has recently received Royal Assent.
Our website also
contains:
- the List of Repealed Acts, which contains a listing of acts which are no longer active, but nonetheless useful for reference purposes.
- the Table of Private Acts, a historical index showing all private Acts of Canada, other than those dealing with divorces, that have been enacted since 1867 and that appear in the Statutes of Canada from
1867 to 1997.
- the Table of Public Statutes, for historical information on specific statutes which contains useful details such as the
dates of enactment and the responsible ministers as well as a detailed listing of amendments, including repealed sections.
If you know the name of the regulation you wish to access, but not the statute, we suggest using the search page and specify the name of the regulation or its SOR (statutory orders and regulations) identifier (e.g. SOR/95-245). Our collection also includes regulations
not connected to a statute and are indexed under other than statutory authority.
3. Where do I obtain statutes and regulations in printed form?
If you are searching for a print version of federal legislation, these publications can be obtained from:
Canadian Government Publishing (PWGSC)
Ottawa ON K1A 0S9
Tel.: (819) 956-4802
Fax: (819) 994-1498
Internet: : http://publications.communication.gc.ca/pubindex-e.html
4. Where can I obtain a listing of provincial statutes and regulations?
The Department of Justice does not maintain provincial statutes on its website.
5. What is a government Bill?
A bill is a proposed piece of legislation tabled before a Parliamental committee for review before being submitted to the House of Commons and the Senate for an official reading and vote of support. The Department of Justice does not publish proposed legislation on its website, although our Newsroom does include press releases and backgrounders which may discuss proposed legislation..
All federal government bills are published and maintained on the Government Bills page, which resides on the Parliamentary Internet Site.
6. Where can I obtain a federal court decision on a specific litigation?
With the exception of the Canadian Charter of Rights Decisions, the Department
does not publish court decisions. The Supreme
Court of Canada provides free access to all of its decisions since
January 1993, and the Office
of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs provides access to
Federal Court decisions.
7. Where can one find a copy of the Charter or the Canadian constitution?
The complete collection of constitutional documents is currently online. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is also available as a separate
document.
8. I want to know more about the Canadian Justice System, where can I find information?
Several publications on our site explain the general premises of the Canadian justice system. These include:
9. Where can I obtain information pertaining to mandatory Child Support?
The Federal Child Support Guidelines
came into effect on May 1, 1997 (SOR/97-175), and are currently hosted on the Child Support Web site.
10. Does the federal government provide citizens with legal assistance?
The Department of Justice Canada does not provide online legal advice or interpretation, nor does it undertake legal research on behalf of visitors on how specific statutes or regulations may apply to their particular circumstances. For legal advice or assistance, contacting a lawyer or a legal aid program is recommended.
All provinces and territories operate publicly funded legal aid programs which provide legal advice at little or no cost to persons of limited means. For more Public Legal Education and Information consult our listing of provincial PLEI and Justice counterparts or your local telephone directory.
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