Introduction to the Legislative and Regulatory Process in Canada (Open Course)

An Open Visual Course to Better Understand Canada’s Legislative and Regulatory System

Meet the people who draft our laws and regulations, and gain a better understanding of the legislative and regulatory process in Canada. This innovative, Open Online Visual Course takes a documentary-inspired approach to communicating the subject matter, relying on video vignettes where you can hear from legal experts. The program is enriched with interactive infographics presenting key concepts, complementary texts and hyperlinks to relevant and accessible resources.

As you work your way through the modules, you’ll gain a better understanding of Canada’s legislative and regulatory processes, especially those of the federal government. You’ll understand the origin of bills and regulations, their typology and the various stages leading to their adoption. You’ll also be able to identify the public organizations, political players and other stakeholders involved in the legislative and regulatory processes, and explain their functions and responsibilities.

Would you like to take this Visual Course to fulfill your continuing education obligation? Click here to register for the accredited version of this online training course.

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To consult the open-access visioformation, click EXPLORE or choose a section from the menu below.

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This project of the Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section, at the University of Ottawa is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Institute for Professional Development at the University of Ottawa, the Government of Ontario through the eCampus Virtual Learning Strategy, to a collaboration with La Cité College, and to the participation of representatives of the Department of Justice Canada and law clerks from the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada.

Content

Visual Course Content

INTRODUCTION
THE FOUNDATIONS OF LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY PROCESSES
THE LEGISLATIVE TEXT
A Bill 1 Topic
Lesson Content
0% Complete 0/1 Steps
STAGES OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY PROCESS
BILINGUALISM, BIJURALISM AND LEGISLATIVE PLURALISM
DEVELOPING LEGISLATIVE DIRECTIONS
THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF LEGISLATIVE DIRECTIONS
THE ELABORATION OF BILLS
THE APPROVAL OF BILLS
REGULATIONS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES
REGULATIONS: DRAFTING AND REVIEW
REGULATIONS: ADOPTION PROCESS
THE PROCESSES FOR IMPROVING AND UPDATING LEGISLATIVE TEXTS
CONCLUSION

Visual Courses

Duration:
12 Hours
Language:
English

The instructors

  • Étienne Trépanier

    Lawyer-filmmaker-in-residence and visual advocacy advisor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

    A graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, Étienne Trépanier has been a lawyer with the Department of Justice Canada for over twenty years, where he has had the opportunity to collaborate on the development of bills and regulations and to work with legislative drafters. Since 2020, Étienne has been attached to the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa to develop and launch Jurivision, a visual advocacy initiative aimed at mobilizing legal knowledge.

  • John Mark Keyes

    Professor and specialist in legislative drafting, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

    A graduate of the Faculties of Law of the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa, John Mark Keyes is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, where he teaches mainly in the field of public law and legislation. John has also worked for the Department of Justice Canada, first in the Privy Council Office Section, where he reviewed draft regulations, and then in the Legislation Section, where he drafted bills as legislative counsel.

The specialists

  • France Allard

    General Counsel and expert in comparative law and bijuralism, Department of Justice Canada

    A member of the Quebec Bar and the International Academy of Comparative Law, Me France Allard is a specialist in comparative law and bijuralism at the Department of Justice Canada, and a researcher at McGill University’s Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law. Over the years, she has taught civil law and common law at the University of Ottawa, the Université de Montréal and the École du Barreau du Québec, and has published mainly in the fields of personal law, comparative law and legal interpretation.

  • Jean-François Leclerc-Sirois

    Jurilinguist, Department of Justice Canada

    Jean-François Leclerc-Sirois works as a jurilinguist in the Legal Services Branch of the Department of Justice Canada. In this capacity, he assists legislative drafters in the preparation of draft regulations, motions and bills, notably by translating the legal terms they contain. Previously, he worked as a legal translator for the Translation Bureau, which enabled him to translate decisions handed down by various federal tribunals.

  • Aleksander Hynnä

    General Counsel and Legislative Editor, Department of Justice Canada

    A member of the Ontario Bar, Aleksander Hynnä works for the Department of Justice Canada as a general practitioner and legislative counsel. As a law clerk, he drafts bills in all areas of Canadian federal jurisdiction, and provides legal advice to the Government of Canada on legislation and the legislative process to support the drafting of bills introduced in Parliament by the Government of Canada.