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, regulations are not made by Parliament
- are made by persons or bodies to whom Parliament has delegated the authority to make regulations
e.g. the Governor in Council (Cabinet), a government Minister, or an administrative agency may have this delegated power
- are made by persons or bodies to whom Parliament has delegated the authority to make regulations
Enabling Act:
- authority to make regulations must be expressly stated in a statute, called an enabling act
- while enabling act tends to state general principles and rules, the regulations made under the act "flesh out" the details necessary for the act's administration
A new or amending regulation comes into force on the date that it is registered with the Clerk of the Privy Council, unless a different date is stated in the regulation
The publication of federal regulations is governed by the Statutory Instruments Act, RSC 1985, c S-22.