CROSS-REFERENCES

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

In regulations, internal and external cross-references are indicated using the name of the provision followed by its number (or letter).

Examples:

Subsection 6(3) does not apply …

… the conditions referred to in paragraph 3(a) of the Act … .

The document mentioned in subparagraph 12(2)(a)(ii) is not required … .

In internal cross-references, there is no need to add the phrase "of these Regulations"^[1] unless the reference is located near a reference to another enactment, in which case the drafter should include that phrase to avoid confusion.

Example:

  1. For the purposes of section 5 of the Act and subsection 4(2) of these Regulations, …

The same applies in respect of a schedule to a regulation. The phrase "of the schedule" is not needed for any internal cross-references in that schedule, but if there is a cross-reference in the schedule to a provision in the regulations, the phrase "of these Regulations" must be included in the cross-reference. However, the phrase "of the schedule" is needed if the reference is located near a reference to a provision of the regulations or to another enactment and there is a risk of confusion.

Example:

SCHEDULE

  1. Performance of one or more of the passport services set out in items 2 to 17 of this schedule in the circumstance referred to in subsection 2(2) of these Regulations … .

Complete references are not used within a section to refer to other portions of the section or within a subsection to refer to other portions of the subsection, and so forth.^[2]

Example:

  4. (1) … .

(2) Despite subsection (1), … .

When a provision, statute or regulation has already been cited in a section or subsection, it is recommended that, if there is no possibility of confusion, the definite article or a demonstrative pronoun ("the", "that", "those") be used to refer to the provision, statute or regulation within that same section or subsection. In the case of references to other provisions, the terms "preceding", "following" or "hereafter" are not to be used. As a rule, two provisions of a regulation should not refer to each other; rather, the reference that is less useful to the comprehension of the text should be deleted.

Subsection 40(2) of the Interpretation Act provides that a "citation of or a reference to an enactment is deemed to be a citation of or reference to the enactment as amended". Therefore, if a reference to an earlier version of the enactment is intended, it should be clearly identified as such.

Example:

  7. (1) Payments authorized under section 28 of the Act, as that section read on March 31, 1996, in respect of the established programs, shall be made at the times and in the manner provided for in section 6.

Furthermore, it may sometimes be necessary to state that the referenced provision is to be read taking into account certain specified rules of interpretation. However, this practice should be used with caution because of the uncertainties and imprecisions that it can generate. The following two examples illustrate the degree of precision that is required.

Example 1:

  10. For the purposes of the Aircraft Operating Regulations,

(a) the word "Minister" shall be read for the word "Administrator" wherever it appears in the Federal Aviation Regulations (U.S.) … .

Example 2:

  3. An eligible exploration expense in relation to a mineral resource or hydrocarbons is

(a) any expense referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or paragraphs (2)(a) to (d), read without reference to the words "before February 20, 1990" … .

As a rule, regulations and Acts are referred to by their title.^[3] The most frequent exception to this rule is the reference to "the Act" in regulations in which the word "Act" has been defined (generally to mean the enabling Act).

ADDITIONAL SOURCES

See the article "Cross-references" in Legistics

See Chapter 3 in the Legislation Deskbook, under the heading "3.3 Legislative Drafting Conventions", where section 25 of the Drafting Conventions of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada is reproduced.

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Footnotes

• ^[1] See subsection 41(2) of the Interpretation Act.

• ^[2] See subsection 41(3) of the Interpretation Act.

• ^[3] See subsection 40(1) of the Interpretation Act