Skip to Main Content

Research Guides

Canadian government information

A guide to resources available to the University of Toronto community for Canadian government information.

Definitions

Bills

  • A proposed law
  • To become law, a Bill must pass three readings and committee study and receive royal assent
  • Bills include entirely new law or amends to an existing one

Committees

  • Committees are a group composed of Members of the Legislative Assembly who are appointed and authorized by the Legislative Assembly to investigate and report on specific issues of importance to a province or territory's citizens

Gazettes

  • A gazette is a province's official government newspaper, published twice a month
  • Provides news on Regulations, various government notices, and private sector public notices required by Stature to be published

Hansard

  • official, verbatim record of parliamentary debates and proceedings
  • Hansard is the name of the British family originally responsible for publishing the proceedings of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom
  • Most Commonwealth jurisdictions produce a Hansard

Journals

  • Journals consist of all the Votes and Proceedings of a session and is the permanent official record of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly
  • The Journals are published following the prorogation of a session or the dissolution of a Legislature

Orders in Council and Ministerial Order

  • Orders in Council are official documents implementing Government decisions concerned with the day-to-day operation of the province
  • The Resumes are reports of the decisions of the Lieutenant Governor in Council and Ministers
    • Include the Order in Council identifying number; the originating Ministry; the name of the Act which provides the authority for the Order; and a resume of the subject matter
    • Resumes are issued for informational purposes only

Regulations

  • Laws made under the authority of an act
  • Also known as orders, rules or bylaws

Sessional papers

  • Any document, whether it be a report, letter, information package, or Required Tabling that a Member files with the Assembly

Statute

  • A statute (or law or Act) is a Bill that's passed three readings and committee study, and has received royal assent

Votes and Proceedings

  • The official record of the Assembly's daily business, similar to minutes; they are the record of what was done rather than what was said

See also: