FAQs

Current consolidations of most public statutes and their associated regulations
Source law - public and private statutes as enacted and regulations as filed - from January 1, 2000
Historical versions of consolidated statutes and regulations, available for statutes and regulations that were amended or affected by a coming into force event after January 1, 2004
Many repealed public statutes
Many revoked or spent regulations
The text of selected constitutional and Imperial statutes

2. Are all Ontario laws available in consolidated form on e-Laws?

No private statutes are available in consolidated form on e-Laws.

Public statutes that are in force (in whole or in part) but that are not available in consolidated form are listed in the Table of Unconsolidated Public Statutes - Legislative History Overview. Regulations that are in force (in whole or in part) but that are not available in consolidated form are listed in the Table of Unconsolidated Regulations - Legislative History Overview. In general, unconsolidated public statutes and regulations are of limited application or effect.

3. Is all Ontario source law available on e-Laws?

The source law currently available on e-Laws includes only statutes enacted and regulations filed on or after January 1, 2000.

4. Are all historical versions of Ontario consolidated laws available on e-Laws?

A historical version of a consolidated public statute or regulation is available on e-Laws only if the statute or regulation was amended or affected by a coming into force event after January 1, 2004. A historical version of a public statute or regulation that was consolidated under section 98 or 99 of the Legislation Act, 2006 is available on e-Laws only if the statute or regulation was amended or affected by a coming into force event after the date of its consolidation.

The historical versions available on e-Laws are found in Period in time (PIT) law on e-Laws. PIT law can be searched for a specific date. PIT law can also be browsed by statute title. If one or more historical versions of a statute or regulation are found when browsing PIT Law, it means that the statute or regulation was amended or affected by a coming into force event after January 1, 2004. If no historical versions of a statute or regulation are found when browsing PIT law, it means that the statute or regulation was not amended or affected by a coming into force event after January 1, 2004 (or, in the case of a statute or regulation consolidated under section 98 or 99 of the Legislation Act, 2006, that the statute or regulation was not amended or affected by a coming into force event after the date of its consolidation). Neither result is an indication of whether the statute or regulation was amended or affected by a coming into force event on or before January 1, 2004.

Some information about amendments and coming into force events that occurred before January 1, 2004 can be found in the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History and the Table of Consolidated Regulations - Detailed Legislative History. See Help for the Detailed Legislative History Tables for more details about their content.

(See "Historical version" and "Period in time (PIT) law" in the Glossary.)

5. Are all Ontario repealed statutes and revoked or spent regulations available on e-Laws?

The inclusion in e-Laws of repealed statutes and revoked or spent regulations is determined by the availability of electronic data.

Statutes:

All public statutes that were in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990 or enacted after 1990 and that were repealed on or after January 1, 2004 are available on e-Laws.
Most public statutes that were in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990 or enacted after 1990 and that were repealed between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2003 are available on e-Laws.
Very few public statutes that were in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990 or enacted after 1990 and that were repealed between January 1, 1991 and December 31, 1994 are available on e-Laws.
Unconsolidated public statutes that were repealed on or after January 1, 1991 are not available on e-Laws.
Public statutes repealed before January 1, 1991 are not available on e-Laws.
Repealed private statutes are not available on e-Laws.

To determine whether and when a public statute was repealed, check the Table of Repealed Consolidated Public Statutes or the Table of Repealed Unconsolidated Public Statutes.

Regulations:

Most regulations that were in the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 or filed after 1990 and that were revoked on or after January 1, 1995 are available on e-Laws. Some regulations made under the Planning Act that were of limited application are not included.
Very few regulations that were in the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 or filed after 1990 and that were revoked between January 1, 1991 and December 31, 1994 are available on e-Laws.
Unconsolidated regulations that were revoked on or after January 1, 1991 are not available on e-Laws.
Regulations revoked before January 1, 1991 are not available on e-Laws.
Most regulations that became spent on or after January 1, 2004 are available on e-Laws.
Very few regulations that became spent before January 1, 2004 are available on e-Laws.

To determine whether and when a regulation was revoked or became spent, check the Table of Revoked and Spent Consolidated Regulations or the Table of Revoked and Spent Unconsolidated Regulations. Note that if a regulation became spent before January 1, 2004, this Table does not indicate the exact date it became spent, but states only that it became spent before January 1, 2004.

(See "Repealed statute", "Revoked regulation" and "Spent regulation" in the Glossary.)

6. How quickly is source law posted to e-Laws?

Source law is usually posted to e-Laws within two business days after enactment by the Legislature in the case of statutes, and within two business days after filing with the Registrar of Regulations in the case of regulations. At the beginning of each source law statute, there is an "Assented to" notice indicating the day the statute received Royal Assent. At the beginning of each source law regulation, there is a notice stating the day it was filed with the Registrar of Regulations.

7. How up-to-date is current consolidated law on e-Laws?

At the top of each current consolidated statute or regulation on e-Laws, there is an indication of the consolidation period for that consolidation. The consolidation period is the period during which the consolidation being accessed accurately represents the consolidated law.

The "from" date in a consolidation period will be the date the law was enacted if no amendments or coming into force events subsequently affected the law. If the consolidation reflects amendments or coming into force events that affected the law, the "from" date will be the date the amendments were enacted or the provisions came into force.

The "to" date in a consolidation period is the date to which the consolidation is current. The "to" date for most current consolidated laws is "e-Laws currency date". Clicking on the "e-Laws currency date" link in the consolidation period takes you to the e-Laws Consolidation Currency Date web page, which tells you what the e-Laws currency date is on the day you are accessing the consolidated law. The e-Laws currency date will usually be three business days before the date on which a current consolidated law is accessed because current consolidated laws on e-Laws are generally kept up-to-date to within three business days.

The e-Laws currency date will vary depending on the date on which a current consolidated law is accessed. For example, on Thursday, September 13, 2007, the e-Laws currency date was Monday, September 10, 2007, while on Monday, September 17, 2007, the e-Laws currency date was Wednesday, September 12, 2007. Because the e-Laws currency date changes almost daily, it is important to note both the e-Laws currency date and the date on which you are accessing the consolidated law.

Another reason that it is important to note the date on which you are accessing a particular consolidated law is that a consolidation bearing a given consolidation period may read slightly differently depending on the date it is accessed.

For example, if a consolidated law is changed under the change powers in section 42 of the Legislation Act, 2006, the current consolidation of the law will be updated to reflect the changes made to the law, but the consolidation period for that consolidation will remain the same. The reason the consolidation period remains the same is that changes made to a law under the change powers do not alter the legal effect of the law (unlike amendments or coming into force events).

Similarly, if a proclamation is issued to bring certain provisions of an Act into force on a future date, an editorial note will be added to the current consolidation of the Act informing readers of the issuance of the proclamation, but the consolidation period for that consolidation will remain the same. It is not until those provisions actually come into force on the future date that the text of the consolidation is updated to show that those provisions are in force; at that time, the consolidation period is changed.

Occasionally, a current consolidated law is current to a date other than the e-Laws currency date. In that case, the "to" date in the consolidation period will be the actual date to which the consolidation is current.

You may come across a consolidation period in which the "from" date is later than the e-Laws currency date. In that case, the document is actually current to the "from" date. For example, on November 21, 2008, you view a regulation with the following consolidation period:

Consolidation Period: From November 19, 2008 to the e-Laws currency date.

When you click on the "e-Laws currency date" link, the e-Laws Consolidation Currency Date page shows an e-Laws currency date of November 18, 2008. Since the "from" date is later than the e-Laws currency date, the consolidation period should in this example be read as "From November 19, 2008 to November 19, 2008" instead of being read as "From November 19, 2008 to November 18, 2008". This situation is temporary, as the e-Laws currency date eventually catches up to the "from" date.

Sometimes a "Notice of additional information" or grey shaded note follows the consolidation period in a current consolidated statute or regulation. The Notice and the grey shaded note are not part of the consolidation period, but are for informational purposes only.

A "Notice of additional information" may appear on current consolidated law with a fixed "to" date in its consolidation period. The Notice is included to provide information on amendments or coming into force events that affect the consolidated statute or regulation after the "to" date indicated in the consolidation period. These amendments, which have not yet been incorporated into the consolidation, are cited so that they can be found in Source Law. The amendments and events are eventually incorporated into a subsequent consolidation of the statute or regulation, and an updated current consolidation is then posted on e-Laws. Very recent amendments or events may not be immediately included in the Notice.

Grey shaded notes are included after a consolidation period to provide commencement information affecting the consolidated statute or regulation.

8. How do I indicate the date on which I accessed a consolidated law?

You may indicate the date of access of a consolidated law by marking it yourself on a print or electronic copy of the law. For current consolidated statutes or regulations with a consolidation period for which the "to" date is the e-Laws currency date, you can also indicate the date on which you accessed the consolidated statute or regulation by printing a copy of the e-Laws Consolidation Currency Date web page.

9. What does it mean if text within a consolidated statute or regulation is grey-shaded?

If a statute has been enacted by the Legislature but some or all of its provisions are not yet in force, or if a regulation has been filed with the Registrar of Regulations but some or all of its provisions are not yet in force, those provisions are included in the consolidated version of the statute or regulation, together with related editorial notes, but are shaded in grey to indicate that they are not yet in force. The grey-shading and related editorial notes are removed from the consolidation as soon as possible after the provision or amendment comes into force. To ensure that you have current information as to whether a provision is in force, it is not sufficient to rely solely on the presence of grey shading. You should also check the consolidation period at the top of the consolidated law, the editorial note for the grey shaded provision and any Notices of additional information or other editorial notes near the beginning of the consolidation.

10. What do the numbers at the end of provisions in a consolidated statute or regulation mean?

The numbers at the end of provisions in a consolidated statute or regulation are called "historical footnotes". A historical footnote contains a citation to the corresponding provision in the source law parent statute or regulation, followed by a citation to each amending statute or regulation that subsequently amended the provision.

Example of a footnote for a provision in a statute: 1997, c. 31, s.1 (7); 1999, Sched. F, c. 6, s. 20 (3); 2005, c. 5, s.21 (5). This means that the provision of the statute was originally enacted as subsection 1 (7) of chapter 31 of the Statutes of Ontario, 1997 and was subsequently amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1999, Schedule F, chapter 6, subsection 20 (3) and the Statutes of Ontario, 2005, chapter 5, subsection 21 (5).

Example of a footnote for a provision in a regulation: R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 69, s. 19 (1); O. Reg. 368/93, s. 8; O. Reg. 63/03, s. 5 (1, 2). This means that the provision of the regulation was subsection 19 (1) of Regulation 69 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 and was subsequently amended by Ontario Regulation 368/93, section 8 and Ontario Regulation 63/03, subsections 5 (1) and (2).

Consolidations omit some of the provisions that were in the source law statute or regulation, namely: provisions amending or repealing other laws, commencement provisions and the provision that enacts the short title of a statute. The historical footnote for an omitted provision indicates that the provision has been omitted and indicates whether the omitted provision was an amendment or repeal, a commencement provision or a short title provision. Like any other historical footnote, it also cites the provision in the source law parent statute or regulation and each amendment made to the provision.

11. When are statutes and regulations moved from the current consolidated law database to the repealed, revoked and spent law database?

If a provision repealing a statute or revoking a regulation has been enacted by the Legislature or filed with the Registrar of Regulations but is not yet in force, the statute or regulation remains in the consolidated law database and an editorial note, shaded in grey, is inserted near the beginning of the consolidation, stating that the statute has been repealed or the regulation revoked and indicating whether the repeal or revocation is to come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, on a specified future date, on the day a specified provision of a statute or regulation comes into force, or in specified circumstances.

If the repeal of the statute comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor or if the revocation of the regulation comes into force on the day that a specified provision of a statute is proclaimed into force, the grey shaded editorial note near the beginning of the consolidation will be updated when a proclamation is issued so as to specify the date named in the proclamation.

As soon as possible after the repeal or revocation comes into force, the repealed statute or revoked regulation is moved from Current Consolidated Law to Repealed, Revoked and Spent Law.

When Chief Legislative Counsel identifies a regulation as spent, the regulation is moved from Current Consolidated Law to Repealed, Revoked and Spent Law.

12. Are Ontario government forms available on e-Laws?

Only those forms that comprise part of a regulation are found on e-Laws. Many of the forms on e-Laws are presented in the regulations as scanned images, the text of which cannot be searched. If a regulation contains forms, they will usually be found at the end of the regulation. You must print out the forms to use them. They cannot be filled in or filed on-line. For best results, forms should be viewed or printed in Word rather than HTML.

Some regulations do not include the text of forms, but rather incorporate forms only by reference to them. A provision incorporating a form by reference will indicate where the form is available.

13. How do I find the law I need?

First, you must decide which type of law you are interested in. There are four types of law on e-Laws: current consolidated law; source law; repealed, revoked and spent law; and period in time (PIT) law.

Most users are interested in current consolidated law, which consists of the most recent versions available on e-Laws of every consolidated statute and regulation (See "Consolidated law" and "Current consolidated law" in the Glossary.)

Source law consists of statutes as enacted by the Legislature and regulations as filed with the Registrar of Regulations, beginning with the year 2000. (See "Source law" in the Glossary.)

Repealed, revoked and spent law consists of the repealed statutes, revoked regulations and spent regulations that are available on e-Laws. (See "Repealed statute", "Revoked regulation" and "Spent regulation" in the Glossary.)

Period in time (PIT) law consists of current and historical versions of consolidated statutes and regulations. Historical versions are available only for consolidated laws that were amended or affected by a coming into force event after January 1, 2004 (or after the date of their consolidation under section 98 or 99 of the Legislation Act, 2006, if later). (See "Period in time (PIT) law" and "Historical version" in the Glossary.)

Once you have selected the type of law, you can use either Search or Browse.

Search is the fastest way to find a law. Enter the title, or any part of the title, of the law you wish to find. If you don’t know any part of the title of the law, enter a word or phrase that you think might be in the text of the law. To refine your search, you can use various operators such as "and", "or" or "in the same text segment as" between words you are searching for.

For detailed information on how to use Search, see Search Help.

Browse requires that you know the title of the statute or regulation you wish to find. To browse for source law, you must also know the year in which the law was made.

For detailed information about browsing, see Browse Help.

There is as yet no subject index to the laws on e-Laws.

14. How do I download and save a document?

The statute and regulation titles listed on the Search Results pages and on the Browse screens all have download links beside them. If you click on the download link beside a statute or regulation title and have Microsoft Word installed, it will open automatically as a Word document. If you do not have Word installed, you are given the choice of opening or saving the document in an application of your choice.

15. How do I print a document?

You can print the HTML or Word version of a document. The quickest way to print entire documents is by using your browser's Print command. This will give you the HTML version of the document.

To print the Word version of the document, you must first download the statute or regulation you're interested in (see previous question for details on how to download), and then print the document using Word.

If you just wish to quickly print a portion of a statute or regulation, select the portion while viewing it in your browser and then use your browser's Print command, clicking on the "print selection" option.

Formatting results may vary, depending on your software and hardware and on the printing methods you choose. If you are attempting to print a graphic contained in a statute or regulation, it is recommended that you print the Word version, which is typically clearer.

If you wish to print a Legislative Table, see Legislative Tables Help on the Legislative Tables page.

16. How can I purchase print copies of Ontario legislation?

Print copies of Ontario legislation can be purchased through Publications Ontario.

17. Are Ontario statutes and regulations protected by copyright?

Click here for the Government of Ontario's policy on copying its statutes and regulations.

18. How do I bookmark a specific statute or regulation?

Don't bookmark from your search results; these are temporary links with a limited life span. For a permanent bookmark, find the statute or regulation by browsing and then treat it as you would any other link; right-click on the title and select "Add to Favourites" or "Add Bookmark" from the resulting popup menu, or pick "Copy Shortcut" if you want to paste the link into an e-mail or text document.

19. How do I determine which Minister is responsible for an Act?

Ministerial responsibility for the administration of public statutes is set out in orders-in-council made under the Executive Council Act. These orders-in-council are published in The Ontario Gazette. The Table of Ministerial Responsibility for Public Statutes Assigned by OIC, found under Legislative Tables on e-Laws, shows the title of each public statute, which Minister has responsibility for the statute, the relevant order-in-council number, and the date of The Ontario Gazette issue in which the order-in-council was published.

20. How can I find out whether a consolidated law has been changed through the exercise of a change power set out in subsection 42(2) of the Legislation Act, 2006?

Subsection 42(2) of the Legislation Act, 2006 confers on the Chief Legislative Counsel power to make limited, specified types of changes to consolidated laws. The Chief Legislative Counsel must give notice of most of the types of changes that are made, and may give notice of the other types of changes. Notices given by the Chief Legislative Counsel of change powers that were exercised appear on e-Laws in separate legislative tables for consolidated statutes and consolidated regulations, with a different table for each date on which one or more notices of change were given. (See the legislative tables titled Notices of Changes to Consolidated Statutes and Notices of Changes to Consolidated Regulations.)

Notice of change information, if any, for a consolidated statute or regulation can also be found in the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History or the Table of Consolidated Regulations - Detailed Legislative History for that statute or regulation.

(See "Change powers" and "Notice of change" in the Glossary.)

21. What is not available on e-Laws and where can I find this information?

e-Laws does not contain:

Bills
Hansard and Committee proceedings
Proclamations
Orders-in-Council
Pre-January 1, 2000 Source Law (Public and Private Statutes as enacted and Regulations as filed)
Unconsolidated Public Statutes
Unconsolidated Regulations
Municipal By-laws

Bills, Hansard and Committee proceedings can be found on the website of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Check with the Archives of Ontario for documents that predate the information available on the Legislative Assembly’s website.

Proclamations are published in The Ontario Gazette. Recent issues of The Ontario Gazette are available on-line; for older issues, you must examine the print volumes found in the holdings of many larger public or university libraries or at the Archives of Ontario.

Orders-in-Council for the period 1867-1988 are held by the Archives of Ontario; for the period 1989 to the present, they are held by the Office of the Executive Council. Pre-Confederation orders-in-council are held by Library and Archives Canada.

Public and Private Statutes as enacted are published in printed annual statute volumes. Regulations as filed are printed in The Ontario Gazette; recent issues of The Ontario Gazette are available on-line. For printed annual statute volumes and earlier issues of The Ontario Gazette, check the holdings of your public or university library or the Archives of Ontario.

Unconsolidated Public Statutes are public statutes that were unrepealed as of December 31, 1990 but were not included in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990 because they were considered to be of limited application or effect. For the text of these statutes, see the relevant printed annual statutes volumes, available through public and university libraries or the Archives of Ontario. If any of these public statutes was subsequently consolidated, its text is available on e-Laws.

Unconsolidated Regulations are: (a) regulations that were unrevoked as of December 31, 1990 but were not included in the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 because they were considered to be of limited application or effect; and (b) Planning Act regulations filed with the Registrar of Regulations between 1991 and 2002 that were left unconsolidated because they were considered to be of limited application or effect. For the text of these regulations, see the relevant issue of The Ontario Gazette, available through public and university libraries or the Archives of Ontario. If any of these regulations was subsequently consolidated, its text is available on e-Laws.

For Municipal by-laws, contact the municipality in question.

See More Links for italicized references.

22. What are the components of a consolidated statute?

Title and chapter number - Each consolidated statute has a title and chapter number. The chapter number is the number assigned to the statute in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990 or in the Statutes of Ontario for a year after 1990. Chapter numbers are assigned sequentially in the order in which statutes receive Royal Assent in a given year.

Consolidation period - Indicated at the top of each current and historical version of a consolidated statute on e-Laws, the consolidation period is the period during which that version of the statute is an accurate consolidation of the statute on the day the version is accessed on e-Laws. A consolidation period is not indicated on repealed statutes.

Notice of additional information - Some current consolidated statutes have a Notice of additional information below the consolidation period. The Notice is included to provide information on amendments or coming into force events that occur after the "to" date in the consolidation period but are not yet incorporated into the consolidation. These amendments and coming into force events are eventually incorporated into a subsequent consolidation of the statute, which is then posted on e-Laws as the current consolidated statute.

Information re last amendment - The last amendment to be reflected in a current consolidated statute is cited near the beginning of the statute. If no amendments were made to a current consolidated statute, this is indicated by a note.

Editorial notes - Editorial notes may appear: at the beginning of the statute; at the end of the provision(s) to which they pertain; at the end of a Part; or at the end of the statute. Some begin with the word "Note:" while others are simply grey shaded notes. Editorial notes are not part of the statute.

Table of Contents - Most consolidated statutes have a table of contents. It does not form part of the statute and is included for convenience only.

Preambles - Some statutes begin with a preamble. The preamble is part of the statute and may be used for the purpose of interpreting the statute.

Parts - Some statutes are divided into numbered Parts, cited as Part I, II, III, etc.

Sections, subsections, etc. - Every statute is composed of numbered sections, cited as sections 1, 2, 3, etc. Many sections are further divided into two or more subsections, cited as subsections (1), (2), (3), etc. Some sections and subsections also contain clauses (cited as clauses (a), (b), (c), etc.), subclauses (cited as subclauses (i), (ii), (iii), etc.), paragraphs (cited as paragraphs 1, 2, 3, etc.) and subparagraphs (cited as subparagraphs i, ii, iii, etc.). Further levels of divisions are possible, although they are rare.

Definitions - Most statutes contain a definition section that lists, in alphabetical order, definitions of terms used in the statute. The definition section is usually at the beginning of the statute, although definitions sometimes appear elsewhere. In a statute that is divided into Parts, the first section of a Part often contains definitions of terms used in that Part.

The definition of an English term contains a reference to the corresponding French term and the definition of a French term contains a reference to the corresponding English term. In a few cases, a term that is given a definition in one language is not given a definition in the other language. This occurs if the ordinary meaning of the term in the other language requires no legislative definition.

Headnotes and headings - Headnotes and headings in the body of a statute do not form part of the statute and should not be relied on as a means of interpreting the statute. They are included for convenience only.

Historical footnotes - At the end of each section and many subsections of a statute, you will find a historical footnote that tells you the source of the provision -- whether it was in the 1990 Revised Statutes of Ontario or was in a statute enacted after the 1990 revision. This is followed by a citation to each amendment made to the provision. If there is no historical footnote at the end of a subsection, the next historical footnote that appears is the historical footnote for that subsection.

For example:

A note that reads "R.S.O. 1990, c.H.8, s.144" means the provision reads as it appeared in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990.

A note that reads "R.S.O. 1990, c.C.4, s.1(2); 1994, c.14, s. 1 (2, 3)" means that the provision as it appeared in the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990 has been amended by subsections 1(2) and (3) of chapter 14 of the Statutes of Ontario, 1994.

A note that reads "1992, c.3, s.2" means the provision was originally enacted by section 2 of chapter 3 of the Statutes of Ontario, 1992.

23. What are the components of a consolidated regulation?

Title and regulation number - Regulations are made under statutes that authorize their making. There are, therefore, two titles associated with a regulation: the title of the statute under which the regulation is made and the title of the regulation itself, such as "General" or "Licences". A regulation is also assigned a number when it is filed with the Registrar of Regulations.

Consolidation period - Indicated at the top of each current and historical version of a consolidated regulation on e-Laws, the consolidation period is the period during which that version of the regulation is an accurate consolidation of the regulation on the day the version is accessed on e-Laws. A consolidation period is not indicated on revoked or spent regulations.

Notice of additional information - Some current consolidated regulations have a Notice of additional information below the consolidation period. The Notice is included to provide information on amendments or coming into force events that occur after the "to" date in the consolidation period but are not yet incorporated into the consolidation. These amendments and coming into force events are eventually incorporated into a subsequent consolidation of the regulation, which is then posted on e-Laws as the current consolidated regulation.

Information re last amendment - The last amendment to be reflected in a current consolidated regulation is cited near the beginning of the regulation. If no amendments were made to a current consolidated regulation, this is indicated by a note.

Editorial notes - Editorial notes may appear: at the beginning of the regulation; at the end of the provision(s) to which they pertain; at the end of a Part; or at the end of the regulation. Some begin with the word "Note:" while others are simply grey shaded notes. Editorial notes are not part of the regulation.

Table of Contents - Some consolidated regulations have a table of contents. It does not form part of the regulation and is included for convenience only.

Parts - Some regulations are divided into numbered Parts, cited as Part I, II, III, etc.

Sections, subsections, etc. - Every regulation is composed of numbered sections, cited as sections 1, 2, 3, etc. Many sections are further divided into two or more subsections, cited as subsections (1), (2), (3), etc. Some sections and subsections also contain clauses (cited as clauses (a), (b), (c), etc.), subclauses (cited as subclauses (i), (ii), (iii), etc.), paragraphs (cited as paragraphs 1, 2, 3, etc.) and subparagraphs (cited as subparagraphs i, ii, iii, etc.). Further levels of divisions are possible, although they are rare.

Definitions - Many regulations contain a definition section that lists, in alphabetical order, definitions of terms used in the regulation. The definition section is usually at the beginning of the regulation, although definitions sometimes appear elsewhere. In a regulation that is divided into Parts, the first section of a Part often contains definitions of terms used in that Part.

Approximately 40 per cent of Ontario regulations are bilingual; the remainder are in English only. In bilingual regulations, the definition of an English term contains a reference to the corresponding French term and the definition of a French term contains a reference to the corresponding English term. In a few cases, a term that is given a definition in one language is not given a definition in the other language. This occurs if the ordinary meaning of the term in the other language requires no legislative definition.

Headnotes and headings - Headnotes and headings in the body of a regulation do not form part of the regulation and should not be relied on as a means of interpreting the regulation. They are included for convenience only.

Historical footnotes - At the end of each section and many subsections of a regulation, you will find a historical footnote that tells you the source of the provision -- whether it was in the 1990 Revised Regulations of Ontario or was in a regulation made after the 1990 revision. This is followed by a citation to each amendment made to the provision. If there is no historical footnote at the end of a subsection, the next historical footnote that appears is the historical footnote for that subsection.

For example:

A note that reads "R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 537, s. 25" means the provision reads as it appeared in the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990.

A note that reads "R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 537, s. 19; O. Reg. 546/91, s. 8" means that the provision as it appeared in the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 has been amended by section 8 of Ontario Regulation 546/91.

A note that reads "O. Reg. 152/92, s. 3(5)" means the provision was originally made by subsection 3(5) of Ontario Regulation 152/92.

24. What is considered to be an official copy of a source law or consolidated law?

Section 35 of the Legislation Act, 2006 provides that the following are official copies of Ontario source law and consolidated law:

A law printed by the Queen's Printer.
A law accessed from the e-Laws website in a form or format prescribed by regulation.

The Queen's Printer (Publications Ontario) prints copies of source statutes in annual statute volumes and copies of source regulations in The Ontario Gazette, as well as copies of consolidated statutes and regulations.

On November 30, 2008, the following copies of source laws and consolidated laws accessed from the e-Laws website were prescribed by regulation as official copies of the law:

An on-screen display of a law viewed on or downloaded from e-Laws in HTML or Microsoft Word format.
A print-out of a law viewed on or downloaded from e-Laws in HTML or Microsoft Word format.

However, any copy of a law that is accompanied by a disclaimer stating that it is not intended to be official is not an official copy of the law.

25. How do I find out whether a proclamation has been issued bringing provisions of a public statute into force?

If you are looking at a public statute in Current Consolidated Law, and you see one or more grey-shaded provisions accompanied by a note stating that the provision or provisions come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, check the top of the statute, just below the consolidation period, to see if there is a note indicating that a proclamation has been issued with respect to any of the grey-shaded provisions naming the date or dates on which they come into force.

Another way to find out whether a proclamation has been issued to bring a public statute, or one or more provisions of a public statute, into force is to check the Table of Proclamations under Legislative Tables, Public Statutes.

(See "Coming into force" and "Proclamation" in the Glossary.)

26. Why do the hyperlinks for web addresses in laws on e-Laws seem to be missing or broken?

e-Laws no longer hyperlinks web addresses that appear in laws, except in rare circumstances. A web address that appears in a law is part of the text of the law. If a web address referred to in a law is in fact subsequently changed, the web address appearing in the text of the law cannot legally be updated on e-Laws except through a legislative amendment or the exercise of a change power under Part V of the Legislation Act, 2006. In order to indicate that web addresses in laws are part of the legal text and not web text per se, the hyperlinking has in most cases been removed.

Web addresses in laws on e-Laws may or may not be up to date. If you have questions or comments about a web address that appears in a law, please contact the ministry of the minister who is responsible for the law. You may refer to the table titled "Ministerial Responsibility for Public Statutes" under the Legislative Tables link to identify the minister who is responsible for a particular public statute. A minister responsible for provisions of a public statute is also responsible for regulations made under those provisions.

Laws published on e-Laws are required under the Legislation Act, 2006 to show the law as made or amended by the lawmaker, subject to limited correction and change powers granted under that Act. While a court’s decision may affect the interpretation, operation or application of a law, it does not actually amend or change the wording of the law, even if a court rules that all or part of a law is of no effect. If a law is subsequently amended by the lawmaker to reflect a court’s decision, those amendments are then published and consolidated on e-Laws.

28. How do I determine when a particular provision of a consolidated statute or regulation came into force?

Information about when a particular provision of a consolidated law came into force from 1990 onwards can be found in the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History or the Table of Consolidated Regulations - Detailed Legislative History for the statute or regulation containing the provision.

29. How do I refer to Ontario statutes and regulations?

There are different ways to refer to or cite Ontario statutes and regulations, and what’s required or acceptable in a given circumstance depends on the context. However, the Legislation Act, 2006 provides some guidance.

Section 5 of the Act says that a statute may be cited,

by its long or short title
by the following citation method:

for a statute set out in the Revised Statutes of Ontario: in English as “Revised Statutes of Ontario, (year)” or “R.S.O. (year)” and in French as “Lois refondues de l’Ontario de (year)” or “L.R.O. (year)”, followed by its chapter number
for any other statute, in English as “Statutes of Ontario” or “S.O.” and in French as “Lois de l’Ontario” or “L.O.”, followed by its year of enactment and its chapter number

in accordance with accepted legislation citation practices.

For example, the Courts of Justice Act may be cited as R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43. And the Municipal Act, 2001 may be cited as S.O. 2001, c. 25.

Section 30 of the Legislation Act, 2006 says that a regulation may be cited,

by the following citation method:

for a regulation set out in the Revised Regulations of Ontario: in English as “Revised Regulations of Ontario, (year) , Regulation (number)” or as “R.R.O. (year), Reg. (number)”; in French as “Règlements refondus de l’Ontario de (year), Règlement (number)” or as “R.R.O. (year), Règl. (number)”
for any other regulation, in English as “Ontario Regulation” or “O. Reg.” and in French as “Règlement de l’Ontario” or “Règl. de l'Ont.” followed by its filing number, a forward slash and the year of its filing (the year may be shown in full or by the last two figures in the year, for example, “2007” or “07”)

in accordance with accepted legislation citation practices.

For example, the Rules of Civil Procedure may be cited as R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194. And the Family Law Rules may be cited as O. Reg. 114/99.