The International Cooperation Group
Publications
NATIONAL SURVEY OF LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING SERVICES
2002
FOREWORD
As the foreign assistance arm of the Department of Justice of Canada,
the International Cooperation Group provides other countries with advice
on legislative drafting services, among other matters. One of our aims
within this area has been to supply concrete and practical information
on the structure, responsibilities and operations of the organisations
in charge of drafting legislation in Canada. This objective led to the
development of a national survey — the first of its kind —
of legislative services, which was conducted by the International Cooperation
Group in 1998. In just the few years that have passed, the ongoing changes
in these organisations and the range of information they are able to provide
have been so great that it has already become necessary to revise our
information.
This new survey provides a comprehensive, detailed and up-to-date picture
of the legislative services of the federal, provincial and territorial
governments. The survey was conducted over a number of months, from August
2001 to May 2002. It is intended to provide all our colleagues and the
wider legislative and legal communities across Canada with a reliable
and useful overview, as well as to serve as a firm basis on which the
International Cooperation Group can formulate its practical assistance
to other states.
The quality of a collaborative work such as a survey depends entirely
on the active involvement of its contributors. It is therefore proper
to express our gratitude here to the survey's respondents for their
full answers to a lengthy and detailed questionnaire. A special note of
gratitude is also owed to Christine Landry, of the International Cooperation
Group, who collated and analysed the responses and prepared the presentation
of the new findings.
Lionel A. Levert
Special Adviser — Legislative Drafting
The International Cooperation Group
Department of Justice
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