Updating Statutes and Regulations for All Canadian Jurisdictions (as of Dec. 1984)

Sam Coghlan was Deputy Director and Senior Consultant of the Thames Ontario Library Service Board, Southwestern Ontario.

Statutes are Acts of Parliament or of the provincial legislatures which state the law of the land. Regulations are the details of this law which, because the parliaments lack the time or resources to pass them properly themselves, are delegated to governments (Cabinets, Ministers, etc.) to declare. But, once a statute or regulation has been passed, a need very often arises to change or amend it because of changing circumstances. So the lawmakers amend the statute or regulation. And this fact creates the raison d’être behind this tiny but useful booklet.

If you find a reference to a regulation or a statute, you can never know whether the law declared therein has been changed or not until you have “updated” it. Updating means checking to see if another regulation or statute has been passed in the meantime that alters the one you have found. Updating, in many cases, must include a search of sources right up to the present. This makes updating a complicated procedure that can entail the use of several specific tools. And the procedure varies within each jurisdiction.

This booklet provides information on updating for each jurisdiction in Canada (federal, the ten provinces, and the two territories). It provides information, however, not instruction. It offers succinct but comprehensive guidelines as to what tools or sources can be used for updating in each jurisdiction. A standard format of presentation is followed for each jurisdiction, within which is given a list of alternative tools with brief annotations stating how each is used.

For instruction on how to update, doing is better than reading — and doing under the guidance of someone who can show you how is best. For reference, however, and for a checklist of steps to take, this booklet is invaluable.