New Layout for Legislation
As part of ongoing efforts to improve access to justice for Canadians, the print and PDF versions of federal legislation have been given a new appearance effective January 2016.
Consolidated Acts
The Justice Laws Website provides an official consolidation, or updated version, of the federal Acts and regulations maintained by the Department of Justice as a convenient way for the public to view the state of the law, without having to carry out research and put together the various amended provisions.
What are consolidated Acts and regulations?
When the federal government makes changes to Canadian law, often it will create "amending" Acts or regulations. These amending documents make changes to existing laws. For example, if the government wishes to add a new offence to the Criminal Code, it will not rewrite the entire document or create a new, separate Code, but will create an amending Act. The amending Act will add new sections or make changes to existing sections of the Criminal Code. A consolidated Act or regulation is one that has been updated and incorporates the amendments into the original text.
Are the consolidated Acts and regulations the official versions?
As of June 1, 2009, all consolidated Acts and regulations on the Justice Laws Website are "official", meaning that they can be used for evidentiary purposes. This is the result of the coming into force on that date of amendments made to the Statute Revision Act, which has been renamed the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act. For more information see the Important Note page and section 31 of the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act.
Acts by title
Frequently Accessed Acts
- Access to Information Act PDF: 674 kB
- Canada Elections Act PDF: 4393 kB
- Canada Labour Code PDF: 2086 kB
- Competition Act PDF: 1289 kB
- Contraventions Act PDF: 491 kB
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act PDF: 681 kB
- Copyright Act PDF: 1442 kB
- Criminal Code PDF: 7995 kB
- Divorce Act PDF: 426 kB
- Financial Administration Act PDF: 1289 kB
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act PDF: 1481 kB
- Income Tax Act PDF: 19332 kB
- Pension Act PDF: 800 kB
- Privacy Act PDF: 632 kB
- Youth Criminal Justice Act PDF: 1237 kB
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