How the Law Works in Canada

In Canada, our law comes primarily from two sources: legislative bodies and the courts.

What are Laws and Legislative Bodies?

Often when someone talks about a law, they are referring to legislation, which are laws passed by governmental legislative bodies, such as the Legislative Assembly of BC. Generally, you’ll want to find the most up to date, current versions of laws to help with your case. You can find links to current legislation on the Clicklaw page Laws, Cases & Rules.

Legislative bodies include the federal parliament, provincial legislatures such as the Legislative Assembly of BC, and municipal councils such as the city of Vancouver, or the village of Oliver. These legislative bodies pass laws, which are also referred to as legislation. Legislation includes laws that are referred to as acts or statutes, as well as regulations. Regulations outline the rules that go with specific acts. For example, the Compassionate Care Leave Regulation is one of the rules under the Employment Standards Act.

There are federal laws, which are Canada-wide, and provincial laws, which only apply in that province. The federal government controls laws such as criminal law, banking and defence. The provincial governments control laws such as education and health. Sometimes provincial laws and federal laws overlap. For example, there are both provincial and federal laws related to family matters.

Municipalities are given power by provincial legislatures to pass bylaws about local matters such as zoning, parking and noise. Again, sometimes laws may overlap. For example, if you want to find out what the law says about prostitution in Vancouver, you need to check both the federal criminal code and the municipal anti-soliciting bylaw.

First Nations with treaties, such as Tsawwaassen and Nisga’a are self governing and have their own constitution and laws. Indian bands which are still governed by the federal Indian Act can pass bylaws for their band.

Good starting points to learn more about laws include

• The factsheets How A Bill Becomes Law in BC and How a Bill Becomes a Law in Canada from Courthouse Libraries BC
• The book Legislation Made Easy, available in most public libraries, explains the legislative process in a simple, easy to understand manner.
• A Guide to Legislation and Legislative Process in British Columbia is an in-depth guide from the BC Ministry of Justice.
• The web page By-laws from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.

Also see the section in this guide How to Find Laws

What is Case Law?

Canada (except for Quebec) uses a system of law called “common law”, which means that courts are bound to follow the principles established by previous courts in similar cases dealing with similar facts. Finding case law similar to your own situation will help you understand how the courts may treat your own circumstances and the strength of your position in a dispute.

Case law is also referred to as “judge-made law”, written decisions, reasons for judgment, judgments, and precedents. A case law decision reports the judge’s decision and is not a word for word transcript of the entire courtroom proceedings. Case law decisions do not contain any of the files from the court proceedings.

For further information on case law, see The CanLII Primer: Legal Research Principles and CanLII Navigation for Self-Represented Litigants chapter on “The System of Precedent”.

Also see the section in this guide How do I find case law.

Beginner's Guide to Finding Legal Information © Courthouse Libraries BC 2015 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

In law, the re-examination of a term of an order or agreement, usually to determine whether the term remains fair and appropriate in light of the circumstances prevailing at the time of the review. In family law, particularly the review of an order or agreement provided for the payment of spousal support. See "de novo," "family law agreements," "order" and "spousal support."

An act; a statute; a written law made by a government. See "regulations."

(1) In law, a court proceeding; a lawsuit; an action; a cause of action; a claim. (2) A historic decision of the court; case law. See "action," "case law, " "court proceeding," and "precedent."

A kind of legislation that provides supplemental rules for a particular act. Regulations are created and amended by the government, not by the legislature, and as a result the legislature has no say in how or what regulations are imposed by government. See "act."

(1) A reply, a rebuttal, an answer to a court proceeding or an application, or (2) a statement as to why a particular claim or application should not succeed.

In law, the rules that set out the political and legal organization of a state. The power and authority of the governments, the legislative bodies, and the courts, as well as their limits, all stem from the constitution. In Canada, there are two primary constitutional documents, the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Constitution Act, 1982. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution Act, 1982.

(1) The legal principle under which courts are bound to follow the principles established by previous courts in similar cases dealing with similar facts, or (2) the system of justice used in non-criminal cases in all provinces and territories except Quebec.

The law as established and developed by the decisions made in each court proceeding. See "common law."

A person appointed by the federal or provincial government to manage and decide court proceedings in an impartial manner, independent of influence by the parties, the government, or agents of the government. The decisions of a judge are binding upon the parties to the proceeding, subject to appeal.

A judge's conclusions after hearing argument and considering the evidence presented at a trial or an application; a decision, the judge's reasons. A judge's written or oral decision will include the judge's conclusions about the relief or remedies claimed as well as the judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law. A written decision is called the judge’s "reasons for judgment." See "common law," "conclusion of law," "finding of fact" and "final judgment."

In law, (1) a judge's conclusions after hearing argument and considering the evidence presented at a trial or an application, (2) a judgment, or (3) the judge's reasons. A judge's written or oral decision will include the judge's conclusions about the relief or remedies claimed as well as their findings of fact and conclusions of law. A written decision is called the judge’s "reasons for judgment." See "common law," "conclusions of law" and "findings of fact."