Cecilia Tellis, Law Librarian Brian Dickson Law Library CML 3319 : Advanced Legal Research Winter 2011 Federal legislation Colleen Addison, Law Librarian, Brian Dickson Law Library

Outline  Legislation –How to find Laws –Looking at the history of your law –Legislative process

Laws  Divorce Act

Laws  What are the reasons the law states for getting divorced? Intolerable cruelty? Marriage breakdown? Have they always been the same?

Legislative research: Step 1  Find secondary sources Legislative research entails many steps (finding laws, bills, debates, journals, older laws, amendments, etc.) Secondary sources can cut out some of these steps!

One more secondary source  Library of Parliament Virtual Library – searchpublications-e.asphttp://www2.parl.gc.ca/sites/lop/virtuallibrary/re searchpublications-e.asp

Another secondary source  Ask someone

Looking up laws  Three official places –Canada Gazette  –Statutes of Canada (books) –Department of Justice website

Divorce Act  8. (1) A court of competent jurisdiction may, on application by either or both spouses, grant a divorce to the spouse or spouses on the ground that there has been a breakdown of their marriage.

Updating laws  What is it? –Even online acts are not totally up-to-date –You need to check to see if any changes have happened in ensuing time frame –Being phased out as online sources become more and more up-to-date

Updating laws Official method -Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers On Department of Justice Laws website Older editions available in print in SLR 4-1

Updating laws Some other methods -Check LEGISinfo for sessional bills introducing recent or proposed amendmentsLEGISinfo -For a more recent amendment, to see if it is in force, check also the “Table of Proclamations” in the Canada Gazette, Part III Canada Gazette, Part III Also consult individual editions of the Canada Gazette, Part II for most up-to-date proclamations

Looking at the history of the law  Have the reasons always been the same?  Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers –Department of Justice website

Looking at the history of your law  s.11, 1997, c. 1, s. 1(1)  Statutes of Canada, 1997  An Act to Amend the Divorce Act, c.1

Looking at the history of your law  REMEMBER: Amendment acts are NOT on the Department of Justice website! 

Looking at the history of your law Divorce Act –R.S.C., 1970, c. D-8 ACT REPEALED 1986, c. 4, s. 32 CIF, 1986, c. 4 proclaimed in force see SI/86-70

Looking at the history of your law  Divorce Act—R.S.C., 1970, c. D-8  RSC vs. SC  RSC came out in 1952, 1970, 1985

Looking at the history of the laws  You must look in print!  Repealed laws are NOT on the Department of Justice website!  1970  Grounds for divorce –Include adultery, sodomy, bestiality, rate, homosexual acts, marriage with someone else, intolerable cruelty

Looking at the history of your law  What if I want to go further back than that?  Other jurisdictions may help  Private Acts may also help

Bills and the Legislative process

How a bill becomes law (cont.)

Looking up the legislative process  Marleau and Montpetit (House of Commons Practice and Procedure)  Google « marleau and montpetit » – content/c_g_parliamentaryprocedure-e.htmhttp:// content/c_g_parliamentaryprocedure-e.htm

Other books  The Laws of Government – Craig Forcese & Aaron Freeman  Parliamentary Privilege in Canada – Joseph Maingot  Beauchesne’s Parliamentary Rules & Forms – Fraser, Dawson, Holtby