British Columbia Regulations

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Copyright © 1995-2008 Catherine P. Best
Conditions and terms of use

	How regulations are made
	Citing a regulation
	Finding regulations and amendments

How regulations are made

Subordinate legislation includes regulations, orders, directives, bylaws and proclamations.

The Regulations Act, the Regulatory Impact Statement Act, and the Interpretation Act govern regulations. Section 1 of the Regulations Act defines a regulation as made under a power in an Act where the word "regulation" or "prescribe" is used in conferring the power. A regulation is more than merely administrative. It affects the public, rather than an individual or small group. Regulations contain such details as how much per kilogram cherry pickers are entitled to be paid under employment standards legislation, or limits on effluent discharge under pollution control legislation. By contrast, orders are used for day to day administrative matters such as permits and appointments.

The governing statute sets out the scope of the regulatory power. Section 41 of the Interpretation Act elaborates further on the scope of that power, by providing what is implied within the power. The governing statute also sets out who has the authority to make the regulation or order.

A regulation is made in the following way.

The ministry responsible for the governing statute produces a draft regulation.

The draft regulation is inspected by legislative counsel, and then returned to the originating ministry for enactment.

If the regulation is to be made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the minister brings it before Cabinet for approval.

It is then signed by the minister, the presiding member of the Executive Council, and the Lieutenant Governor.

Before the regulation can come into force, it must be deposited with the Registrar of Regulations. The regulation is then published in Part II of the British Columbia Gazette, as required by the Regulations Act.

When you review an Act, note whether it contains a section authorising the Lieutenant Governor in Council or another entity to make regulations, or whether it refers to certain things as prescribed. If so, you should check to find out whether any regulations have been passed.

Citing a regulation

A regulation is cited by year and number. A sample citation is B.C. Reg. 181/74. "74" stands for the year 1974, and 181 is the number assigned to the regulation.

Finding regulations and amendments

Regulations are initially published in Part II of the British Columbia Gazette. A new issue of the Gazette comes out every 2 weeks. Each issue has an index listing regulations by name and by statute. A cumulative index is produced at the end of each calendar year, and the issues for the year are bound with the index.

As regulations are often amended, and one Act may have several regulations enacted pursuant to it, the efficiency and effectiveness of your research will be increased if you use a consolidated version of the regulations.

	The Queen's Printer publishes a consolidated looseleaf version of the BC Regulations. The regulations are organised by statute, rather than by the name of each regulation. For example, all regulations enacted pursuant to the Company Act are filed under the name of that Act. Each regulation indicates the most recent amendment included in the consolidation of that regulation.
	Additional sources are CCH publications or other commercial consolidations of legislation on your topic.
	Several consolidated versions of the BC Regulations are now available electronically, as described in the material on electronic versions of the BC Statutes.

The Queen's Printer publishes the Index of Current B.C. Regulations every 6 months. It contains a list of all regulations and amendments to them, organised by statute. Since all regulations are not included in the consolidated looseleaf collection, you should always check this publication. If you need to conduct historical research on the regulations, rather than just study the consolidated version, this publication will provide you with citations to all regulations and amendments to them since 1958. You can then find the original versions in the BC Gazette, Part II. This publication can also be useful for updating your research in the consolidated looseleaf version. However, because it is only published semi-annually it will sometimes be less current than the consolidated looseleaf version, and will be less current than most electronic versions.

For new regulations and recent amendments, check the Quicklaw or QPLegalEze version of the consolidated Regulations, and the Regulations tab in the BC Legislative Digest. A final check for the most current information can be made by calling the Registrar of Regulations in Victoria.

If you require a print copy and locate a reference to a regulation that is too current to be included in the looseleaf consolidation, you can find the official text of the regulation in Part II of the British Columbia Gazette.