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Find other options on the <a href="/eng/contact/index.html">Contact Us</a> webpage. </p> </section> </div> <nav id="wb-bc" property="breadcrumb"> <h2>Breadcrumb trail</h2> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <ol class="breadcrumb"> <li><a href="/eng/index.html">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/contact/index.html">Contact Us</a></li> </ol> </div> </div> </nav> </header> <main property="mainContentOfPage" typeof="WebPageElement" class="container" id="main-content"> <div class="main-content"> <h1 id="wb-cont" property="name">Guide to Canadian Legal Information </h1>  <div class="col-xs-6 col-md-4 pull-right"> <div class="panel panel-info"> <header class="panel-heading"><strong> In This Section</strong></header> <ul class="list-group"> <li class="list-group-item"><a href="#fsr">Federal Statutes and Regulations</a></li> <li class="list-group-item"><a href="#gb">Government Bills</a></li> <li class="list-group-item"><a href="#cd">Court Decisions</a></li> <li class="list-group-item"><a href="#ccd">Constitutional Documents</a></li> <li class="list-group-item"><a href="#har">How Federal Acts and Regulations are made</a></li> </ul> </div> </div>  <h2 id="fsr">Federal Statutes and Regulations</h2> <p>Links to Canadian federal statutes and regulations are found on our <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/" title="Justice Laws Web Site">Laws of Canada</a> site.</p> <h3>Statutes</h3> <p>To find a specific statute, use our <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/Search/" title="Simple Search ">Laws search</a> or consult our <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/" title="Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers">alphabetical listing of statutes</a>. You may also wish to consult the <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/TablePrivateActs/index.html" title="Table of Private Acts (1867 to December 31, 2007)">Table of Private Acts</a>, a historical index showing all private Acts of Canada, other than those dealing with divorces, that have been enacted since 1867 and that appear in the Statutes of Canada from 1867 to December 31, 1997. If you need historical information on specific statutes, we suggest you consult the <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/TablePublicStatutes/index.html" title="Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers">Table of Public Statutes</a>, which contains useful details such as the dates of enactment and the responsible ministers as well as a detailed listing of amendments, including repealed sections.</p> <h3>Regulations</h3> <p>Most regulations on our site are referenced according to their enabling statute; however you can search the <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/">alphabetical listing of regulations</a>. If you know the name of the enabling statute, first find the statute and then click the link. Scroll down to find a list of “Regulations Made Under this Act” and select the regulations link. The <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/Search/" title="Simple Search ">search page</a> is available if you know the specific name of the regulation or its SOR (statutory orders and regulations) identifier (e.g. SOR/95-245). Our collection also includes regulations which do not have enabling statutes and are considered Other than statutory authority.</p> <h3>Statutes and Regulations in Printed Form</h3> <p>Obtain a bound print version of federal legislation from <a href="http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/home.html" title="Canadian Government Publications">Government of Canada Publications</a>. </p> <h3>Provincial Statutes and Regulations</h3> <p>The Department of Justice does not maintain provincial statutes on our website. Refer to your province or territory’s Department of Justice listed in <a href="link-lien.html">Helpful Links</a>. </p> <h2 id="gb">Government Bills</h2> <p>The Department of Justice does not publish proposed legislation (“bills”) on our website. All legislation introduced in Parliament can be found on the Parliament of Canada’s <a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/Home.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1">LEGISinfo</a> page.</p> <p><a href="http://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/Faq.aspx?Language=E">LEGISinfo</a> (frequently asked questions) also includes general information on legislation, including how a bill becomes a law.</p> <p>Once passed into law, all federal legislation can be found on <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/">Justice Laws Website</a>.</p> <p>You can find news releases and backgrounders which explain legislation introduced in Parliament by Minister of Justice on our <a href="/eng/news-nouv/index.html">News</a> page. </p> <p>The Department of Justice publishes a <a href="/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/index.html">Charter Statement</a> for every new government bill introduced. A Charter Statement informs Canadians about potential effects of a bill on rights and freedoms protected by the Charter and, where applicable, explains considerations that support the constitutionality of a bill.</p> <h2 id="cd">Court Decisions</h2> <p>With the exception of the Canadian Charter of Rights Decisions, the Department does not publish court decisions. The <a href="http://csc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/en/nav.do">Lexum Collection</a> provides free access to all of the Supreme Court of Canada decisions since 1907, while the <a href="http://www.fja-cmf.gc.ca/home-accueil/index-eng.html">Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs</a> provides access to Federal Court decisions.</p> <h2 id="ccd">Constitutional Documents</h2> <p>The complete collection of <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/Const_index.html" title="Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1972">constitutional documents</a> is currently online. The <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-15.html">Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a> is also available as a separate document.</p> <h2 id="har">How Federal Acts and Regulations are made</h2> <p>The Privy Council Office provides a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/services/publications/guide-making-federal-acts-regulations.html">Guide to Making Federal Acts and Regulations</a> on their web site.</p> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> <dl id="wb-dtmd" class="no-print mb-5 mt-3"> <dt>Date modified: </dt> <dd> <time property="dateModified"> 2021-07-21 </time> </dd> </dl> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.2.4/jquery.js"></script> <script src="/themes-dist/wet-boew/js/wet-boew.min.js"></script> <script src="/themes-dist/GCWeb/js/theme.min.js"></script> </main> <footer id="wb-info"> <div class="gc-contextual"> <div class="container"> <nav class="wb-navcurr pb-4 pt-4"> <h3 class="mt-4">Department of Justice Canada</h3> <ul 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