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Glossary

Search for terms used on the Canada Gazette website, browse provincial and territorial gazettes and visit helpful websites.

Note

The purpose of these definitions is to help you understand the terms that the Canada Gazette uses. These are not intended to be legal definitions and should not be treated as such.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterA

Act

A law made by Parliament or a provincial legislature. The process of making an Act of Parliament begins when the proposed Act, or bill, is introduced in either the Senate or the House of Commons. A bill becomes law if it is passed by both houses and receives royal assent.

Affidavit

A signed document bearing the official seal of the Commissioner for Oaths of Ontario. It states officially that a notice was published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on a specific date. Lawyers may need this document in court as evidence that a notice was published.

Archives

Files containing the majority of the Canada Gazette issues published between 1841 and 1997.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterC

Consolidated index
A directory of all the regulations, statutory instruments and other documents published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, since 1955 that remain in force today.
Consultation

The consultation process involves the pre-publication of proposed regulations in 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.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterE

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 to respect certain legal requirements.

Extra editions: Consult the 8 criteria associated with the publication of an extra edition in Part I or Part II

Extract

An extract is a reproduction of a notice, regulation or order as it is published in Part I or Part II of the Canada Gazette. It is available free of charge at the Canada Gazette Directorate in a Portable Document Format (PDF), with its own cover page.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterG

Governor in Council

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

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterH

HTML links

An HTML link is provided by the Canada Gazette Directorate to some clients to directly access a notice, a regulation or an order if they have specific requirements for it (for example, the preparation of a press kit for the announcement of a new regulation by a minister, or the creation on their website of a link to their notice that will be activated at the same time as its publication in the Canada Gazette). The HTML link is sent to the email address provided in Section 1 of the insertion request and is activated only when the notice is actually published.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterI

Instrument of advice

Letter from the Prime Minister to the Governor General recommending certain actions. Examples include cabinet shuffles or prorogation of Parliament.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterM

Mandate

The responsibility, delegated to the Canada Gazette Directorate by the Queen’s Printer, to produce and publish 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.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterO

Order in council

A 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.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterP

Parliament

The legislative branch of government composed of the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General), the Senate and the House of Commons.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterQ

Quarterly index

Quarterly index to the Canada Gazette, Part I. It is published 4 times a year: at the end of January, April, July and October. It contains the title of all notices that were published during the previous three-month period.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterR

Regulations

A 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
  • refer generically to all forms of delegated legislation

For the purposes of the Regulatory Policy, the Canada Gazette Directorate relies 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.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterS

Statutory instrument

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

Statutory Instruments Act

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

Statutory Instruments Regulations

The regulations establishing the manner in which the Canada Gazette is published and the publication dates.

Supplement

It is a document on a specific subject published in a gazette, but with a separate cover page and pagination, or alone if it is too large.

Topic(s) list beginning by the letterT

Treasury Board

Canada’s statutory cabinet committee. The Treasury Board’s recommendation or approval is required for regulations that either:

  • are liable to have significant financial implications through their enabling statute
  • require its approval or recommendation through their enabling statute:

Provincial and territorial gazettes

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