Bill C-25
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2nd Session, 35th Parliament, 45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-25 |
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An Act respecting regulations and other
documents, including the review,
registration, publication and
parliamentary scrutiny of regulations and
other documents, and to make
consequential and related amendments
to other Acts
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Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons
of Canada, enacts as follows:
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SHORT TITLE |
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| Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Regulations
Act.
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INTERPRETATION |
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| Definitions
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2. (1) The definitions in this subsection
apply in this Act.
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| ``regulation'' « règlement »
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``regulation'' means a document that is made
under an Act of Parliament and expresses
rules of conduct that are unilaterally im
posed, have binding legal effect and are of
general application and it includes any doc
ument that is called a regulation in an Act
of Parliament.
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| ``regulatory
authority'' « autorité réglementan- te »
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``regulatory authority'' means, with respect to
a regulation or other document, the author
ity authorized to make the document but, if
the document is authorized to be made by
the Governor in Council, it means the min
ister who recommends the document to the
Governor in Council or any other person or
body designated by the Governor in Coun
cil.
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| ``regulatory
process'' « processus réglementai- re »
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``regulatory process'' means the process set
out in sections 6 to 10.
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| Interpreta- tion of ``regulation''
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(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
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| General or
specific
exercise of
powers
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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.
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CONSULTATION ON REGULATORY MATTERS |
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| Consultation
with Deputy
Minister of
Justice
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3.1 A regulatory authority may consult the
Deputy Minister of Justice on any matter
relating to the making of regulations, includ
ing the application of this Act.
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APPLICATION OF REGULATORY PROCESS |
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| Application of
the regulatory
process
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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, rule, by-law, list or guideline.
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| Exemption for
certain types
of forms
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(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 require
ments.
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| Exemption
power of
Governor in
Council
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5. (1) The Governor in Council may, by
regulation, exempt regulations from the ap
plication of the regulatory process.
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| Application
power of the
Governor in
Council
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(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.
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| Application
power of
Clerk of the
Privy Council
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(3) The Clerk of the Privy Council may
extend the application of the regulatory pro
cess, or any part of it, to a document other than
a regulation.
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| Principles of
legality,
accessibility
and
government
accountability
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(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 ac
countability in making regulations and other
documents, taking into consideration the
importance of
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REGULATORY PROCESS |
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Proposed Regulations |
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| Responsibi- lities of regulatory authorities
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6. Each regulatory authority is responsible
for ensuring that the regulations it proposes
are authorized by law and are written clearly
in both official languages.
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| Responsibi- lities of the Deputy Minister of Justice
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7. (1) The Deputy Minister of Justice must
review each proposed regulation in order to
assist the regulatory authority in fulfilling its
responsibilities under section 6 .
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| Notification
of Clerk of the
Privy Council
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(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 re
solved with the regulatory authority and the
Clerk may bring the concerns to the attention
of the regulatory authority.
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| Repeal of
unreviewed
regulations
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(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.
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| Exceptions
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(4) This section does not apply to
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| Exemption
power of
Governor in
Council
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(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.
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Registration |
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| Regulations to
be sent for
registration
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8. (1) As soon as possible after a regulation
is made, the regulatory authority must send it
for registration to the Clerk of the Privy
Council in both official languages and in the
form and manner, including sending by elec
tronic means, determined by the Clerk.
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| Exception
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(2) Subsection (1) 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.
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| Registration
by Clerk of
the Privy
Council
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9. (1) The Clerk of the Privy Council must
register as soon as possible in both official
languages
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| Refusal to
register
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(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the
Clerk may refuse to register a regulation that
was not reviewed under section 7, but should
have been.
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Publication |
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| Publication of
regulations in
the Canada
Gazette
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10. (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).
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| Notice of
making
regulations
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(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.
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| Alternative
methods of
publication
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(3) The Clerk of the Privy Council may
direct that, as soon as possible after a regula
tion 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, and in that case notice of the making of the
regulation, with a reference to the manner of
its publication, must be published in the
Canada Gazette as soon as possible after it is
registered.
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| Failure to
publish
regulations
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(4) No regulation is invalid because it was
not published in accordance with this section.
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DEFENCE |
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| Unpublished
regulations
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11. 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 section 10 on or
before the date of the alleged contravention,
unless it is proved that on that date
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CANADA GAZETTE |
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| Official
gazette
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12. (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).
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| Publication
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(2) The Governor in Council may deter
mine 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.
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| Distribution to
members of
Parliament
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(3) A copy of each issue of the Canada
Gazette in which regulations are published
must, at the request of any member of
Parliament, be provided to that member
without charge.
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| Index of
registered
documents
and exempt
regulations
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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.
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| Information
about
exempted
regulations
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(2) For the purpose of including the ex
empted regulations in the index, the Governor
in Council may require regulatory authorities
to provide information about any of the
exempted regulations that they are responsi
ble for.
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| Index of
unregistered
documents
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14. A quarterly index of unregistered docu
ments published in the Canada Gazette is to be
published in the Canada Gazette.
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INSPECTION AND COPIES |
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| Inspection of
documents
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15. (1) A person may inspect
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| Copies of
documents
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(2) A person may obtain a copy of
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