1st Session, 35th Parliament,
42-43-44 Elizabeth II, 1994-95

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-84

An Act to provide for the review, registration, publication and parliamentary scrutiny of regulations and other documents and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Regulations Act.

INTERPRETATION

Definitions

2. (1) In this Act,

``regulation''
« règlement »

``regulation'' means a document that is made under an Act of Parliament and expresses rules of conduct that are unilaterally imposed, have binding legal effect and are of general application and it includes any document that is called a regulation in an Act of Parliament;

``regulatory authority''
« autorité réglementante »

``regulatory authority'' means, with respect to a regulation or other document, the authority authorized to make the document but, if the document is authorized to be made by the Governor in Council, it means the minister who recommends the document to the Governor in Council or any other person or body designated by the Governor in Council;

``regulatory process''
« processus réglementaire »

``regulatory process'' means the process set out in sections 6 to 12.

Interpretation of ``regulation''

(2) For greater certainty, ``regulation'' does not include an order of a court, but it includes a document that is made under an Act of Parliament and

    (a) contains rules governing the practice or procedure in proceedings before a court or before a tribunal or agency designated under paragraph 26(a);

    (b) fixes the day or time when an Act of Parliament or any of its provisions comes into force or ceases to have effect; or

    (c) amends or repeals an Act of Parliament or a regulation.

General or specific exercise of powers

3. A power exercisable under this Act with respect to a regulation or other document may be exercised with respect to a particular document or with respect to a class of documents.

APPLICATION OF REGULATORY PROCESS

Application of the regulatory process

4. (1) The regulatory process applies to any regulation made under an enabling provision that calls it a regulation or specifies another type of document to be used to exercise the power conferred by the enabling provision, such as an order, by-law, list or guideline.

Exemption for certain types of forms

(2) The regulatory process does not apply to a form of an administrative nature that does not create substantive legal requirements, but merely gives effect to existing legal requirements.

Exemption power of Governor in Council

5. (1) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, exempt regulations from the application of the regulatory process.

Application power of the Governor in Council

(2) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, extend the application of the regulatory process, or any part of it, to a regulation that it does not already apply to, other than a regulation exempted from its application by any Act of Parliament.

Application power of Clerk of the Privy Council

(3) The Clerk of the Privy Council may extend the application of the regulatory process, or any part of it, to a document other than a regulation.

Principles of legality, accessibility and government accountability

(4) The powers of the Governor in Council and the Clerk of the Privy Council under this section are to be exercised in a way that respects the public interest in principles of legality, accessibility and government accountability in making regulations and other documents, taking into consideration the importance of

    (a) achieving regulatory goals, including goals relating to safety, health, the environment and sustainable development, being development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; and

    (b) reducing regulatory costs and delays.

REGULATORY PROCESS

Proposed Regulations

Responsibiliti es of regulatory authorities

6. (1) Each regulatory authority is responsible for ensuring that the regulations it proposes are authorized by law and are written clearly in both official languages.

Consultation with Deputy Minister of Justice

(2) A regulatory authority may consult the Deputy Minister of Justice on any matter relating to the making of regulations, including the application of this Act.

Responsibiliti es of the Deputy Minister of Justice

7. (1) The Deputy Minister of Justice must review each proposed regulation in order to assist the regulatory authority in fulfilling its responsibilities under subsection 6(1).

Notification of Clerk of the Privy Council

(2) The Deputy Minister of Justice may notify the Clerk of the Privy Council of any concerns about the legality or clarity of the proposed regulation that have not been resolved with the regulatory authority and the Clerk may bring the concerns to the attention of the regulatory authority.

Repeal of unreviewed regulations

(3) No regulation is invalid because it was not reviewed by the Deputy Minister of Justice before it was made, but the Governor in Council may, by order, repeal all or part of a regulation that was not reviewed.

Exceptions

(4) This section does not apply to

    (a) rules that govern the practice or procedure in any proceedings before a court or before a tribunal or agency designated under paragraph 26(a);

    (b) amendments to the amount of a fee, charge or rate;

    (c) amendments to a list of persons, places, products, substances or other things;

    (d) minor or technical amendments to a regulation; and

    (e) regulations that follow a model approved by the Deputy Minister of Justice.

Exemption power of Governor in Council

(5) The Governor in Council may exempt a regulation from the application of this section if the Governor in Council considers that review by the Deputy Minister of Justice is not necessary.

Registration

Regulations to be sent for registration

8. (1) As soon as possible after a regulation is made, the regulatory authority must send it in both official languages to the Clerk of the Privy Council for registration.

How regulations are to be sent

(2) The Clerk of the Privy Council may determine the form and manner in which regulations must be sent for registration, including sending by electronic means.

Exception

(3) This section does not apply to a regulation made by the Governor in Council or subject to the approval of the Governor in Council after being made by another person or body.

Registration by Clerk of the Privy Council

9. (1) The Clerk of the Privy Council must register as soon as possible in both official languages

    (a) every regulation made by the Governor in Council or approved by the Governor in Council after being made by another person or body; and

    (b) every regulation sent to the Clerk under section 8.

Refusal to register

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Clerk may refuse to register a regulation that was not reviewed under section 7, but should have been.

Publication

Canada Gazette

10. (1) The Canada Gazette is the official gazette of Canada and is to be published by the Queen's Printer or by any other person or body designated by the Governor in Council under paragraph 26(c).

How the Canada Gazette is to be published

(2) The Governor in Council may determine the form and manner in which the Canada Gazette, or any part of it, is published, including publication by electronic networks and any other electronic means.

Publication of regulations in the Canada Gazette

11. (1) A regulation must be published in the Canada Gazette as soon as possible after it is registered, unless it is subject to a direction under subsection (2) or (3).

Notice of making regulations

(2) If the text of a regulation is published in the Canada Gazette before the regulation is made and the same text is used in making the regulation, the Clerk of the Privy Council may direct that notice of the making of the regulation, with a reference to the previous publication of its text, be published in the Canada Gazette as soon as possible after the regulation is registered.

Alternative methods of publication

(3) The Clerk of the Privy Council may direct that, as soon as possible after a regulation is registered, it be published in another way that the Clerk considers will be effective in bringing the substance of the regulation to the notice of persons likely to be affected by it.

Failure to publish regulations

(4) No regulation is invalid because it was not published in accordance with this section.

Defence relating to unpublished regulations

(5) No person may be convicted of an offence or subjected to a penalty for a contravention of a regulation that was not published in accordance with this section on or before the date of the alleged contravention, unless it is proved that on that date

    (a) the person had actual notice of the substance of the regulation; or

    (b) reasonable steps had been taken to bring its substance to the notice of persons likely to be affected by it.

Distribution of Canada Gazette to Members of Parliament

12. At the request of the Speaker of the Senate or the House of Commons, a sufficient number of copies of each issue of the Canada Gazette in which regulations are published must be provided without charge for the use of members of that House.

INDEXES

Index of registered documents and exempt regulations

13. (1) A quarterly consolidated index of all registered documents, and all regulations exempted under subsection 5(1), in force at any time after the end of the preceding calendar year, is to be published in the Canada Gazette.

Information about exempted regulations

(2) For the purpose of including the exempted regulations in the index, the Governor in Council may require regulatory authorities to provide information about any of the exempted regulations that they are responsible for.

Index of unregistered documents

14. A quarterly index of unregistered documents published in the Canada Gazette is to be published in the Canada Gazette.

INSPECTION AND COPIES

Inspection of documents

15. (1) A person may inspect

    (a) a registered document at the office of the Clerk of the Privy Council or at any other place designated by the Clerk; and

    (b) an unregistered regulation at the office of the regulatory authority or at any other place designated by the regulatory authority.

Copies of documents

(2) A person may obtain a copy of

    (a) a registered document by requesting a copy of it from the office of the Clerk of the Privy Council; and

    (b) an unregistered regulation by requesting a copy of it from the office of the regulatory authority.