• Finding and Updating Statutes:
• Sources for Statutes
• Print Sources
• Electronic Subscription Sources
• Important Online Sources

• Coming into Force of Legislation:
• Sources for Statutes
• Overview
• Status and Copies of Bills

FINDING AND UPDATING STATUTES

Although legislative materials are available in electronic format, print versions of statutes are still important. Both are considered official versions: federally, the official electronic source is from the Department of Justice. In Ontario, statutes from E-laws, discussed below, are official. Updating statutes using paper sources is a somewhat more involved and time consuming process than updating electronically, yet you may find yourself in a situation where you do not have access to electronic databases, or in a jurisdiction where electronic copies are not official. You might also need to find out what a section of a statute looked like at a certain point in time not covered by electronic sources. For reasons like these, it is necessary to become comfortable using print sources to find and update legislation. The following table lists those sources, both print and electronic, with which students should become familiar. 

Finding Statutes (Print Sources)

1. Check The Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers For a Citation (Official Method)

• The Table of Public Statutes for federal legislation is a cumulative, alphabetical listing of all federal statutes in force and provides a citation to the main statute plus citations to any amendments in the annual volumes of the Statutes of Canada. The Table is found in the orange pages of the Statutes of Canada volumes.* For Ontario statutes the Table is found at the end of every volume of the Statutes of Ontario. For both federal and provincial statutes it is important to always use the most recent table which will be found in the most recent annual volume.
• The Statutes of Canada volumes are beige books. The Statutes of Ontario are red books. Both are arranged by year and volume number and shelved on the main floor of the library. Consult the most recent volume available.
• Locate the Act you need. Legislation is listed alphabetically by title in the table.

* The federal Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers is also published three times a year, separately from the bound statutes. Be sure to check the most current edition.

2. Locate the Statute

• Citation information should point you to the correct volume of revised statutes containing the act you are seeking.
• Both the Revised Statutes of Canada 1985 and the Revised Statutes of Ontario 1990 are dark blue volumes. The range of chapter numbers is indicated on the spine of each volume.
• Both the Revised Statutes of Canada and the Revised Statutes of Ontario can be found with the rest of the statutes from their respective jurisdictions on the main floor of the library.
• When using the Revised Statutes of Canada be sure to consult the supplements shelved at the end of the set.

3. Update Amending Statutes Using The Respective Statute Citator

• Both the Canada Statute Citator and the Ontario Statute Citator are very useful reference tools which can be used in lieu of the Table of Public Statutes to locate a statute citation. The citators also contain fairly recent lists of amendments and are current up to the last three months.
• Both the Canada Statute Citator and the Ontario Statute Citator are multi-volume sets that include statutes alphabetically by title. They are shelved with the statutes.
• It is important to note that the citators are considered to be merely research aids and therefore are not official sources. However, despite their status, the citators remain an extremely well organized and useful resource for finding and updating legislation.
• In addition, both the Canada Statute Citator and the Ontario Statute Citator offer the very efficient feature of actually listing the text of amendments cited. These are printed in bold face type.

4. Final Update: Check The Status of Current Bills for Recent Amendments

After updating a statute by searching for any amendments, in order to be absolutely current, you must consult the status of  bills for recent amendments which may have been passed. There are several different methods of accessing the status of current bills. Print sources offer two main alternatives: statute citators or legislative indexes. These sources contain current information, yet they can be awkward and time consuming to use. The internet offers efficient electronic alternatives through various government and legal websites. Please refer below for further information.

PRINT SOURCES FOR BILL INFORMATION

Statute Citators:

• All current bills are listed alphabetically. For the Canada Statute Citator, refer to the green pages found at the front of the citator. For the Ontario Statute Citator, refer to the pink pages at the front.
• Search for your statute title under the Status of Bills section. In these pages you will find appropriate bill numbers and the current status of any relevant bills.
• Using the citator is the simplest method of accessing status of bills information in print.

Canada Legislative Index and Ontario Legislative Digest Service

• These reference tools are are shelved inside the Reference Office in the library. Always consult the most recent edition.
• In the Canada Legislative Index search alphabetically under the "Titles Index" for your statute title, while in the Ontario Legislative Digest Service your statute will be found under "Acts Affected". Each title will provide a list of amending bills.
• Using the bill numbers, locate detailed summary sheets within the "House of Commons" section or the "Public Acts" section respectively. You must take this step to be sure of the bill's status. It is possible that the bill is pending, has passed into force, or has "died"as a result of a session having ended.

Finding Statutes (Electronic Sources)

LexisNexis Quicklaw & Westlaw Canada

As online databases, LexisNexis Quicklaw and Westlaw Canada are able to provide up-to-the-minute information on statutes, bills, coming into force information, and the status of bills.

Important Online Sources

CANLII attempts to provide a global listing for legislative materials from all Canadian jurisdictions. The Department of Justice website is a good source for current federal legislation. E-Laws is an Ontario Government website with access to current legislation.

COMING INTO FORCE OF LEGISLATION

Sources for Federal Statutes

Sources for Ontario Statutes

Overview

Finding a statute is often only the beginning of a search. Once a relevant statute, including any amendments, has been found, one must check for additional information. Even though it has received Royal Assent, an act may not necessarily be in force. The concluding section of a statute normally deals with its commencement. Certain sections of the Act may be brought into force in different ways and at different times. All or part of the statute may be brought into force by the following methods or a combination thereof:

• as soon as Royal Assent has been received
• on the date specified in the act
• upon proclamation by the Governor-in-Council, as published in the Canada Gazette, for federal statutes and upon proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor, as published in the Ontario Gazette, for Ontario statutes.
• if the act is silent:
  • The Interpretation Act, RSC 1985, c I-21, ss 5-6 provides that federal statutes will come into force on the date of Royal Assent.
  • The Legislation Act, SO 2006, c 21, Schedule F, s 8(1) provides that Ontario statutes will come into force on the date of Royal Assent.

Finding Proclamation Dates

If a statute, or a particular section of a statute, is to be brought into force on a date to be proclaimed, one has to check for proclamation dates. For Ontario statutes, proclamations are officially published in the Ontario Gazette. For Federal statutes, proclamations are officially published in the Canada Gazette.

Electronic Sources

For coming into force information for federal statutes, you can consult the Table of Public Statutes from the Department of Justice. although one should also be familiar with print sources. LEGISinfo has coming into force information for 2001 onward.

For coming into force information for Ontario statutes, consult the Table of Proclamations from e-Laws.

Print Sources

1. Statute Citators: The "Monthly Bulletin Service" in the Canada Statute Citator has a Cumulative Alphabetical List of Proclamations for federal statutes. Proclamation information is also listed under the particular section in the main text of the citator. For Ontario statutes the most convenient source is Ontario Statute Citator "Weekly Bulletin Service" (pink pages). This cumulates weekly during the session. It lists bills by title including proclamation date information. It also lists all proclamations of past statutes issued during the current session.
2. Canada Gazette, Part II:  Since March 27th, 1979, federal proclamations are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II under the Statutory Instruments Act.
3. Annual Statutes Volumes:  The federal annual statute volumes contain Tables of Proclamations covering specified periods.  The Ontario statute volumes contain cumulative listings of Acts both proclaimed and not yet proclaimed.
4. Canadian Current Law Legislation: Published several times per year, this service includes federal and provincial "Statutes Amended, Repealed, or Proclaimed in Force".

STATUS AND COPIES OF BILLS

Federal bills are typically published at first reading, as amended by committees, as passed by the House of Commons, and on Royal Assent.
Ontario bills are published at first reading, after amendment by Committee, and upon Royal Assent as individual chapters.
After a bill has received Royal Assent, it is assigned a chapter number (which has no relation to bill number), and printed as a final version of the bill.

In addition to the obvious names of amending bills, be aware of:

• "Miscellaneous Statute Amendment Acts" which normally list minor amendments to a series of different acts.
• "Omnibus Reform Bills" which amend many different acts dealing with a similar subject matter.

Federal

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

LEGISinfo - gives the text of the bill at various stages, legislative summaries, important speeches at second reading, votes, and coming into force data.

PRINT SOURCES

1. Canada Statute Citator: The easiest source is to use the Canada Statute Citator. The green pages at the front of this Citator have a monthly status of federal bills.
2. Canada Legislative Index: This is a loose-leaf service prepared and published by the BC Courthouse Library Society. It is updated weekly while Parliament is in session, and monthly while Parliament is in recess.
3. Canadian Current Law - Legislation: Published several times per year, these booklets list the status of federal and provincial legislation for the current calendar year.
4. Copies of Federal Bills:  MADGIC, at Stauffer library, receives copies of bills--consult a reference librarian for assistance.

Ontario

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

The Ontario Legislative Assembly website Bills & Lawmaking contains information on bills and the status of legislation. Here you will find an indexed listing of all the government bills, private members' public bills and private bills introduced in the Ontario Legislature during the current session showing dates of readings, referral to committees, dates of consideration, Royal Assent and proclamations, where applicable. Copies of current and previous versions of the bill are available from this site.

PRINT SOURCES

1. Ontario Statute Citator: This is the easiest print source to use. It contains a "Weekly Bulletin Service" (pink pages) which includes a Status of Bills service. It also reprints bills which have received Royal Assent in its Current Bills Service.
2. Votes and Proceedings: On a weekly basis the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario publishes a "Status of Legislation" section.
3. Carswell's Legislative Digest Service: This service provides a cumulative list of legislative activities.
4. Canadian Current Law - Legislation: Published 8 times per year, these booklets list the status of federal and provincial legislation for the current calendar year.
5. Copies of Ontario Bills:  The Ontario Statute Citator Current Bills Service contains bills which have received Royal Assent and can be found shelved in the Legislation Section. Stauffer library receives copies of bills--consult a reference librarian for assistance.

Closing Note

Electronic versions of both Ontario statutes on E-laws and federal statutes on justice.gc.ca (see O Reg 413/08 and the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, RSC 1985, c S-20, s 31) are now official. However, print sources are the official means to find and update many other jurisdictions' statutes. In reality, it is most effective to use a combination of resources to find the information you need. There are many ways to access the same information and it is to a student's benefit to become familiar with all of these. In this way you will be prepared to work in any environment (electronic or print) in which you may find yourself.