2.2 - How Laws Are Made in Canada

Government and Law-Making Branches

Since the passing of the BNA Act, Canada has become its own country and, since the passing of the Statute of Westminster, Canada has the authority to make and edit its own laws, separate from Britain.  Three main branches of government and law-making in Canada operate to make, edit, interpret, and administer law in Canada.

The first branch is called the executive branch.  The executive branch is the administrative branch of the government, and is responsible for carrying out the government’s plans and policies.  The executive branch includes the following:

• Federal Government:  Queen ... Governor General ... Prime Minister (Head of Government) ... Cabinet (elected officials appointed by Prime Minister) ... Public or Civil Service (people employed by the government)

• Provincial Government:  Queen ... Lieutenant Governor ... Premier (Head of Government) ... Cabinet (elected officials appointed by Premier) ... Public or Civil Service (people employed by the government)

The second branch of government is called the legislative branch.  The legislative branch is the branch of government that has the power to make, edit, and repeal laws.  The legislative branch includes the following:

• Federal Government:  Governor General ... Senate/Upper House (Senators are appointed by the Governor General) ... House of Commons/Lower House (elected Members of Parliament)

• Provincial Government:  Lieutenant Governor ... Legislative Assembly (elected Members of the Legislative Assembly)

The third, and final, branch of government and law-making is the judiciary.  The judiciary is essentially the branch of the government that is responsible for the court system.  The court system is often tasked with interpreting and applying statute laws.  There are essentially four levels of courts in each province in Canada.  In B.C., the lowest level of court is B.C. Provincial Court.  The next is B.C. Supreme Court, followed by B.C. Court of Appeal.  The highest court in each province (and therefore in Canada) is the Supreme Court of Canada.  More about these levels of courts in a later section of this website.

How Laws Are Passed in Canada

Every new law in Canada begins the same way - with an idea.  The idea for a new law can come from a variety of sources, but they typically come from one of three key sources.  The first source is from an individual or an interest group.  An interest group is a group of people that organize to try and influence legislators in favour of their cause.  An example of an interest group is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).  A second source is a government advisory board or royal commissions.  A royal commission is a group formed by the government and tasked with solving a specific problem.  The third main source of ideas for new laws are from elected officials themselves.  These elected people may have ideas for new laws themselves, or they might get them from people living in their constituency.

So, once an idea for a new law is established, then it is written up as draft legislation called a bill.  It then goes through a process of reading, debating, and editing three separate times.  Then a vote is held to determine if the bill will become law.  If the vote is successful, then the bill becomes an act, and is considered to be part of statute law.  The law-making process looks something like this:

1. idea

2. draft legislation is written

3. first reading

   • bill is introduced in the legislature

   • bill is printed and distrbuted to elected members

4. second reading

   • bill is debated in the legislature

   • bill may be referred to committee for edits

5. third reading

   • restricted debate on the bill - contents only

   • no new amendments to the bill after this point

6. vote held

7. slightly differing final steps depending on which level of government

   • Federal Government

     1. steps repeated in the Senate

     2. Governor General signs the bill

     3. Royal Assent and Proclamation

     4. bill is now an act

   • Provincial Government

     1. Lieutenant Governor signs

     2. Royal Assent and Proclamation

     3. bill is now an act

Summary

Reading the above steps regarding how laws are made in Canada, one might get the impression that it's a very simple process. It is. Well, the process in theory is simple; however, the actual activities involved are complicated and tricky because they involve people, more specifically people involved in politics. The passing of new laws requires many discussions and debates (in and out of the legislature buildings).  Because of this, it may take years to pass a new law, even though the process 'appears' so simple.