Bill in Canadian Senate to Harmonize Federal Legislation With Quebec Civil Law

Last week, the federal government introduced legislation in the Senate that will harmonize federal legislation with the Civil Code system of Quebec.

According to the Backgrounder provided by Justice Canada:

"The coming into force in 1994 of the Civil Code of Québec, which replaced the Civil Code of Lower Canada, 1866, had a significant impact on the application of federal statutes and regulations that refer to the province's private law. Harmonization of federal legislation with the civil law of Quebec was undertaken in order to prevent difficulties in applying federal legislation arising from the reform of the Civil Code of Québec."

"Harmonization involves reviewing federal legislation the application of which requires reliance on provincial private law. Where necessary, harmonization changes ensure that federal legislation takes into account the terminology, concepts and institutions of Quebec civil law. Harmonization not only improves the application of federal legislation in Quebec, but also increases the effectiveness of the courts and the public administration responsible for their application by making Parliament's intention clearer and reducing problems in interpreting federal legislation as it applies in Quebec"

This is the third harmonization bill introduced after the Civil Code of Québec came into force in 1994. The Federal Law-Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 1, (S.C. 2001, c. 4) came into force on June 1, 2001. The Federal Law-Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 2, (S.C. 2004, c. 25) came into force on December 15, 2004.