Appendices

Governor in Council

Governor General in Council or Governor in Council means the Governor General of Canada acting by and with the advice of, or by and with the advice and consent of, or in conjunction with the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

Since December 2003, advice to the Governor General on behalf of the Queen’s Privy Council has been provided by the Treasury Board.

Treasury Board ministers consider the regulatory submission and decide whether to recommend that the Governor General make the regulations as presented in their final form.

Departments and Agencies

Federal departments and agencies must comply with this Directive and its related policies and guidance at all stages of the regulatory life cycle.

When drafting enabling legislation, departments and agencies will ensure that subordinate legislative instruments are subject to the requirements of the Statutory Instruments Act. Regulations should not be exempted from these requirements except in exceptional circumstances, when approved by Cabinet. Seeking to obtain an exemption from the Statutory Instruments Act to avoid the requirements of the Cabinet Directive on Regulation is not justified.

Requirements governing legislative instruments are set out in the Cabinet Directive on Law-making.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) is responsible for supporting Ministerial decision making and oversight. TBS is expected to:

• provide advice and guidance to departments and agencies concerning the development of regulatory proposals and compliance with the Directive;
• work with departments and agencies to provide ministers and the Cabinet committee responsible for Governor-in-Council decisions with the necessary information to make decisions on the issues before them;
• review regulatory proposals, challenge departments and agencies on the quality of regulatory analyses, and advise them when the directions set out in the Directive have not been met;
• promote policy coherence among new proposals, existing policies, and the government’s policy agenda;
• be the source of expertise on good regulatory practices; and,
• assess the effectiveness of the Directive and its implementation.

TBS is responsible for stakeholder education and awareness for the regulatory process and good regulatory practices.

It will also maintain current policies, guidance, and tools in support of the implementation of the Cabinet Directive on Regulation.

Privy Council Office

The role of the Privy Council Office (PCO) is to assess memoranda to Cabinet and legislative proposals with regard to instrument selection, regulatory implications, and consistency with this Directive and with the Cabinet Directive on Law-making. Under the Statutory Instruments Act, the PCO- OIC also has a number of responsibilities in the regulatory process:

Examination:

Together with the Department of Justice, examines regulations for any issues and advises the regulation-making authority.

Registration:

Within seven (7) days after making a regulation, the regulation-making authority transmits copies of the regulation in both official languages to PCO, which then registers them. PCO can refuse registration if it deems that certain sections of the Statutory Instruments Act were not followed.

Coming into force:

As normally regulations come into force the day they are registered or later as specified in the regulation, a justification must be provided to PCO for those that are expressed to come into force earlier than the day of registration.

Quarterly consolidated index of regulations:

prepares a quarterly consolidated index of all regulations and amendments to regulations in force at any time after the end of the preceding calendar year.

Revisions and consolidation:

after consultation with the Deputy Minister of Justice, can ask regulation-making authorities to revise or consolidate regulations.

Department of Justice

The Department of Justice provides legal advice to departments and agencies on the legality of proposals for enabling and subordinate legislation, and the legal requirements of the regulatory process.

In doing so, the Department of Justice provides drafting services to departments and agencies and, under the Statutory Instruments Act, examines all proposed regulations to ensure that they:

• have the necessary legal authorization to be made;
• are consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Bill of Rights, 1960;
• are not an unusual or unexpected use of the enabling authority; and,
• are drafted in accordance with established standards.

The Department of Justice also provides departments and agencies with legal tools and advice on the appropriate use of government instruments, regulatory techniques, international standards, and compliance and enforcement techniques.

The Department of Justice and Global Affairs Canada are responsible for advising on the effect of Canada’s international legal obligations, including their implementation in domestic law. The Trade Law Bureau, of the Department of Justice and Global Affairs Canada, is responsible for advising departments and agencies on Canada’s trade law obligations.