Regulations:
- are considered primary sources of law (along with statutes)
- are referred to as delegated or subordinate legislation
- have the same binding legal effect as statutes
- unlike statutes, are not made by the Provincial Legislature
- are made by persons or bodies to whom the Legislature has delegated the authority to make them
e.g. the Lieutenant Governor in Council (Cabinet), a Minister or an Administrative Agency may have this delegated power
- are made by persons or bodies to whom the Legislature has delegated the authority to make them
Enabling Statute
- authority to make regulations must be expressly stated in a statute, called an enabling statute
- while enabling statute tends to state general principles and rules, the regulations made pursuant to the act "flesh out" the details necessary for the administration of the statute
A new or amending regulation comes into force on the date that it is deposited with the Registrar, unless a different date is stated in the regulation, pursuant to the Regulations Act, RSBC 1996, c 402, s 4.
For more information, see Legislation Made Easy (pdf).