Regulations

One of the things we don’t talk about much on the legal research side of things here at Slaw Tips are Regulations.  Regulations are a form of delegated legislation made in the exercise of powers conferred by a statute. Regulations are the how to a Statute’s what. and are usually found online attached to the act that they are made from.

A fairly common question arises about the in force date of a regulation. In Alberta, the day it is filed with the Registrar of Regulations, unless a later day is specified. For federal regulations, section 9 of the Statutory Instruments Act reminds us that most federal regulations also come into force on the date that they are registered.

Regulations can be simple or complex and there can be a well documented process for creating them.  The bottom line is that though regulations are subordinate delegated legislation, they are still law.