Glossary

Act

A law made by Parliament or a provincial legislature. The process of making an Act of Parliament begins with the introduction of a proposed Act, or bill, in one of the two houses of Parliament (the Senate or the House of Commons). A bill becomes an Act if it is passed (approved) by both houses and receives Royal Assent.

Affidavit

Document signed by the commissioners for oaths bearing the official seal of the commissioners for oaths of Ontario that states officially that a notice was published in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ, on a specific date. Lawyers may need this document in judicial court as legal evidence that a notice was published in the Canada Gazette.

Archives

Files containing all Canada Gazette issues published between 1998 and 2010.

To view issues of the Canada Gazette published prior to 1998, please visit the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Web site or a full depository library.

The Canada Gazette Directorate, in partnership with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), digitized all issues of the Canada Gazette published from 1841 to 1997. All these issues are available on the LAC Web site for consultation.

Consolidated Index or Consolidated Index of Statutory Instruments

Quarterly index of the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅱ, which provides a reference to regulations, statutory instruments (other than regulations), and other documents that were in force at any time in the current calendar year.  For instruments published in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅱ, which have ceased to be in force in any previous year, reference should be made to the Consolidated Index of Statutory Instruments of December 31st of the year in question.

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Consultation

The consultation process involves the pre-publication of proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ. The process gives various interested groups and individuals, as well as Canadians in general, a final opportunity to review and comment on proposed regulations at the last stages of the regulation-making process, before they are enacted and published in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅱ.

Extra or Extra Edition

A special edition to the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ or Part Ⅱ, published on any date other than the regular publication date of the Part in question in order to respect certain legal requirements. The publication of extra editions in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ and Part Ⅱ, shall be warranted only under the following circumstances: it is specified in a statute or regulation; the Clerk of the Privy Council is the originator of the request; the Governor General, the House of Commons or the Senate are the originators of the request; the request will result in prevention of substantial damage to the Crown; prevention of danger to the public and/or national health and safety; protection of public and/or national health and welfare; protection of public and/or national security; and emergency legislation.

Extract

Product offered by the Canada Gazette Directorate to its clients. A client who has published a notice in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ or Part Ⅱ, can request copies of their notice as it appeared in the Canada Gazette. A cover page is created especially for the notice in question. In order to obtain extracts of their notice, clients must order a minimum of 100 copies.

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Governor (General) in Council (GIC)

The Governor General of Canada acting by and with the advice and consent of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada (i.e. Cabinet).

Insertion Rates

The costs associated with publishing a notice in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ and/or Part Ⅱ. Costs may vary depending on the length of the notice, submission with or without a diskette or CD-ROM, translation services required and other factors.

Instrument of Advice

Letter from the Prime Minister to the Governor General recommending certain actions (e.g. Cabinet shuffles, prorogation of Parliament).

Mandate

The mandate of the Canada Gazette Directorate is to produce, publish and distribute all formats of the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ, Part Ⅱ and Part Ⅲ, within the time period prescribed in the Statutory Instruments Act and the Statutory Instruments Regulations.

Order in Council (OIC)

Legal instrument made by the Governor in Council pursuant to a statutory authority or, less frequently, the royal prerogative. All orders in council are made on the recommendation of the responsible Minister of the Crown and take legal effect only when signed by the Governor General.

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Parliament

The legislative branch of Government composed of the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General), the Senate and the House of Commons; the period under which the Parliament of Canada exercises its powers. The Constitution says that a Parliament cannot exist for more than five years.

Publiservice

Extranet Web site for Government of Canada employees.

Quarterly Index

Quarterly index to the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ. Published four times a year—at the end of January, April, July and October—this index contains the title of all notices that were published during the previous three-month period.

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Regulations

Law made by a person or body that has been granted (delegated) law-making authority. This term is used both to indicate a specific type of delegated legislation, as well as to refer generically to all forms of delegated legislation. For the purposes of the Regulatory Policy, we rely on the Department of Justice’s determination that an item will receive a Statutory Orders and Regulations (SOR) number to indicate that it is a regulation. More broadly, regulations may refer to all government intervention in the lives of citizens.

Request for Insertion Forms

Forms that clients are required to complete in order to publish a notice in the Canada Gazette. Request for insertion forms are available for non-federal clients (i.e. provincial and municipal governments, law firms, companies, non-profit organizations and individuals from the private sector) and Government of Canada departments and agencies.

RSS Feed

Type of Web feed that uses Really Simple Syndication (RSS) format. An RSS feed is an XML-based format for content distribution online in real time. It is a service which the Canada Gazette Directorate offers, free of charge, to help keep Canadians up to date on specific new content of the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ, as soon as it is published. Each Canada Gazette RSS feed includes the publication date, title, summary of the notice, as well as a link to the full notice.

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SI

Acronym for Statutory Instrument (see definition for Statutory Instrument below).

Site Map

Content overview of the Canada Gazette Web site. The site map provides an organizational layout of all the pages on the Canada Gazette Web site. It breaks down each section from the navigation bars into subsections so you can find information more quickly.

SOR

Acronym for Statutory Orders and Regulations (see the definition of Statutory Orders and Regulations).

Statutory Instrument

A regulation, order, commission or other instrument authorized by an Act of Parliament.

Statutory Instruments Act

Act that confers the responsibility for the publication of the Canada Gazette to the Queen’s Printer.

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Statutory Instruments Regulations

Regulations establishing the manner in which the Canada Gazette is published, the publication dates and the subscription fees.

Statutory Orders and Regulations

Statutory instrument as defined in the Statutory Instruments Act:

“statutory instrument”

1. (a) means any rule, order, regulation, ordinance, direction, form, tariff of costs or fees, letters patent, commission, warrant, proclamation, by-law, resolution or other instrument issued, made or established
   
   1. (i) in the execution of a power conferred by or under an Act of Parliament, by or under which that instrument is expressly authorized to be issued, made or established otherwise than by the conferring on any person or body of powers or functions in relation to a matter to which that instrument relates, or
      
   2. (ii) by or under the authority of the Governor in Council, otherwise than in the execution of a power conferred by or under an Act of Parliament,
      
2. but
   
3. (b) does not include
   
   1. (i) any instrument referred to in paragraph (a) and issued, made or established by a corporation incorporated by or under an Act of Parliament unless
      
      1. (A) the instrument is a regulation and the corporation by which it is made is one that is ultimately accountable, through a Minister, to Parliament for the conduct of its affairs, or
         
      2. (B) the instrument is one for the contravention of which a penalty, fine or imprisonment is prescribed by or under an Act of Parliament,
         
   2. (ii) any instrument referred to in paragraph (a) and issued, made or established by a judicial or quasi-judicial body, unless the instrument is a rule, order or regulation governing the practice or procedure in proceedings before a judicial or quasi-judicial body established by or under an Act of Parliament,
      
   3. (iii) any instrument referred to in paragraph (a) and in respect of which, or in respect of the production or other disclosure of which, any privilege exists by law or whose contents are limited to advice or information intended only for use or assistance in the making of a decision or the determination of policy, or in the ascertainment of any matter necessarily incidental thereto, or
      
   4. (iv) an ordinance of the Northwest Territories, a law made by the Legislature of Yukon or the Legislature for Nunavut, a rule made by the Legislative Assembly of Yukon under section 16 of the Yukon Act or by the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut under section 21 of the Nunavut Act or any instrument issued, made or established under any such ordinance, law or rule.”

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Treasury Board (TB)

Statutory Cabinet committee whose recommendation or approval is required for regulations liable to have significant financial implications or those that, through their enabling statutes, require TB approval or recommendation (e.g. regulations that impose new user fees, or raise or lower existing fees under the Financial Administration Act).