HARMONIZATION OF FEDERAL LAW WITH THE CIVIL
LAW OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

OTTAWA, June 1, 2001 --The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Anne McLellan, is pleased to announce the coming into force of the Federal Law-Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 1. The purpose of this Act is to harmonize certain federal statutes that make use of provincial private law. It is the first in a series of Acts that will harmonize hundreds of federal statutes. This exercise is part of the Harmonization Program undertaken as a result of the coming into force of the Civil Code of Quebec in 1994, which substantially changed the concepts, institutions and terminology of civil law.

The Federal Law-Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 1, ensures that harmonized legislative provisions:

• fully respect the concepts and institutions of the civil law of the province of Quebec;
• use correct terminology when referring to these concepts and institutions; and
• for the other provinces and territories, use French language common law terminology.

"The Act seeks to ensure that all Canadians have access to federal legislation that is respectful of the legal tradition existing in the province or territory in which they reside -- civil law in Quebec and common law in the rest of Canada. Residents of Quebec will be better served by federal laws that apply in Quebec the principles, concepts and terminology of the civil law. This initiative is about ensuring that the people of Quebec recognize, in federal law, today's civil law language," said Minister McLellan.

The Minister added, "the coexistence in our country of two major legal traditions is an undeniable advantage for Canadians. The full development of our these two legal traditions gives us enhanced opportunities worldwide and facilitates international exchanges"

In short, the Federal Law-Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 1:

• repeals pre-Confederation provisions of the Civil Code of Lower Canada of 1866 falling within the legislative jurisdiction of the federal government and adopts new provisions that are harmonized with the civil law of the Province of Quebec;
• amends the Interpretation Act to recognize Canadian bijuralism and to provide that provincial law relating to property and civil rights applies to federal legislation on a suppletive basis; and
• harmonizes 49 other federal statutes with the Civil Code of Quebec in the areas of property, civil liability and security law. The principal statutes amended are the Federal Real Property Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.

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Ref.:

Farah Mohamed
Minister's Office
(613) 992-4621

Alain Bisson
Civil Code Section
(613) 946-8959