Legislation = Written and approved laws. Also known as statutes, or acts.
Bill = A proposed statute, not yet approved.
Act = A bill which has passed through the various legislative steps required for it and which has become law. Also known as a statute.
Statutes = Statutes are laws that are passed by the legislature - federal or provincial/territorial.
Regulations = Rules made pursuant to a statute and known as subordinate legislation. Regulations always have an enabling statute; that is, a statute under which the regulations were made and operate.
Laws or statutes (and bills) are considered "public"if the law is a law that applies to everyone, i.e. the Criminal Code.
Laws can also be "private", meaning they apply to a specific person, place, or corporation, i.e. in some provinces, a hospital or a university may have its own piece of legislation.
Generally, legislation passed in a year is published in a statute volume, with the acts being numbered sequentially 1,2,3 as chapters. The public statutes are typically first, and any private statute is later in the volume.
Most of these legal databases include case law and/or legislation. Mostly Canadian, but some International.
The information in these databases is of a specific nature, so is generally NOT included in a search from the main Library SearchMe! system.
A-Z Database List more databases to choose from ...
Database Search Tips
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The following legal texts are available through WestLaw Canada: