1. Introduction to Federal Legislation  2. Bills  3. Legislative
Research  Federal Legislation – Research Step One: Determine
Jurisdiction  When researching legislation, the first step is to
identify which government has jurisdiction over the area you are
investigating.  If you have already located potentially
applicable legislation, the first step is to determine whether
the bill, statute, or regulation in question is federal or
provincial.  Why? Even though the federal and provincial
governments both have law-making power, the laws they enact
govern different areas and will have different levels of binding
authority.  Federal legislation applies across all provinces,
and includes criminal law, national defence, international trade
and broadcasting. Provincial legislation only governs the
province that enacted it, and includes highway traffic law,
health care, education family and housing laws.  Law-making
power is divided between the federal government and the
provinces by the subject matters lists in ss. 9