Bijural Drafting and the Harmonization Initiative

The bijural drafting of federal bills and regulations and the harmonization of existing Acts and regulations are key elements of the Department of Justice’s commitment to bijuralism.

Bijural drafting of bills and regulations takes into account both civil law and common law when federal legislation relies on provincial or territorial law. In this context, underlying legislative policies may be shaped to meet the Government’s objectives, regardless of whether the measure is applied in a civil law or common law context.

The Harmonization Initiative:

Proposed changes ensure that the underlying legislative policy is implemented in light of provincial or territorial private law, in Canada’s official languages. Harmonization amendments do not alter the legislative policy or establish a set of uniform private law rules in federal law. Public consultations are conducted on harmonization proposals prior to their introduction before Parliament. This allows key stakeholders, members from the legal community and others to comment and provide their point of view.

To date, three harmonization Acts have come into force. A fourth bill was tabled in 2022.

Harmonization amendments to federal legislation can also be found in the following Acts:

Harmonization amendments to existing regulations can be found in the following regulations:

Bijural Terminology Records are available to explain harmonization amendments.