Coming into force of Federal Regulations and Statutory Instruments 

When conducting legislative research, many researchers will know that locating a piece of legislation is only half the battle. The next hurdle lies in decoding commencement information or coming into force date(s).  

As outlined in previous posts, deciphering this information can be tricky and confusion often arises from the wording used. In this post we hope to shed light on three frequently used coming into force (CIF) phrases of Federal SORs and SIs.   

Three phrases (or terms) are often used in SOR/SI’s to describe coming into force date(s): when an Order is made, when an Order is registered and when an Order is published. 

What is the difference and how do you determine which date is which? 

For examples of how these phrases are used in context, look to the following 3 excerpts: 

1. SI/2015-21 on page 916 of the Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 149, No. 6 pdf: 

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, pursuant to section 154 of the Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1, chapter 33 of the Statutes of Canada, 2013, fixes the day after the day on which this Order is made as the day on which sections 138 to 141 and subsection 142(1) of that Act come into force. 

2. SI/2012-48 on page 1627 of the Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 146, No. 14 pdf: 

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, (a) on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to section 208 of the Safe Streets and Communities Act, chapter 1 of the Statutes of Canada, 2012, fixes the day on which this Order is registered as the day on which sections 205 to 207 of that Act come into force; 

3. SI/2023-12 on page 1269 of the Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 157, No. 10 pdf: 

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Labour, pursuant to subsections 534(8) and (10) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2, chapter 27 of the Statutes of Canada, 2018, fixes the 60th day after the day on which this Order is published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, as the day on which sections 486, 502, 523, 527 and 528 of that Act come into force. 

How do we locate the relevant date?  To help clarify, we contacted the Registrar of Statutory Instruments and confirmed how to interpret these phrases: 

• “the day on which this order is made” = the date printed to the right of the Privy Council (P.C.) Number, i.e. the date approved by the Governor General.
  
• “the day on which the regulation is registered” = the date printed to the right of the SI Number under the heading Registration.
  
• “the day on which this order is published” = the date published in the Canada Gazette. 

 To further illustrate, look to the figure below:

Next time you come across a federal regulation or statutory instrument, remember to check the wording used to determine the in-force date.