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RSNL1990

CHAPTER S-26

STATUTES ACT

Amended:

1993 c39; 2010 c30; 2016 cR-15.2 s35

CHAPTER S-26

AN ACT RESPECTING THE STATUTES

Analysis

Short title

PART I

ACTS OF THE

LEGISLATURE

Enacting clause

Clause to follow enacting clause in concise form

Assent and endorsement

Arrangement of Acts by chapters

Printing, binding, attesting and preservation of statutes

Publication of statutes

Judicial notice

PART II

FORM AND STATUS OF LEGISLATION

Interpretation

Role of Chief Legislative Counsel

Official copy of legislation

Presumption: printed copy

Presumption: website copy

Official copy of legislation as evidence

Official copy of consolidated legislation as evidence

Legislation on legislation website not in force

Regulations

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Statutes Act.

RSN1970 c362 s1

PART I

ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE

2010 c30 s1

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Enacting clause

The enacting clause of a statute shall be in the following form:

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSN1970 c362 s2

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Clause to follow enacting clause in concise form

The enacting clause shall follow the

preamble, where there is one, and the various clauses within the purview or body of the statute shall follow in a concise and enunciative form.

RSN1970 c362 s3

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Assent and endorsement

The Clerk of the House of Assembly shall endorse on

an Act, immediately after the title of the Act, the day, month, and year when it was assented to by the Lieutenant-Governor or reserved by him or her for the signification of the pleasure of the Governor-General; and in the latter case the clerk shall endorse upon it the day, month, and year when the Lieutenant-Governor has signified, either by speech or message to the House of Assembly, or by proclamation, that it was laid before the Governor-General in Council and that the Governor-General was pleased to assent to it and the endorsement shall be taken to be part of the Act, and the date of that assent or signification shall be the date of the commencement of the Act where no other date of commencement is provided.

RSN1970 c362 s4

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Arrangement of Acts by chapters

(1)Acts shall be cited and entitled as chapters and Acts shall be arranged by chapters numbered consecutively from the beginning to the end of each calendar year, thus "Chapter 1" of that year.

(2) In

an Act, regulation, instrument or document

an Act may be cited by reference to its

short title or to its

long title, either with or without reference to its

chapter number and the year in which it was passed.

1977 c7 s1

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Printing, binding, attesting and preservation of statutes

(1)An Act of the Legislature or a public document shall not be required to be on parchment, but the Act or public document, being wholly or in part written, typewritten, or printed on paper, shall be valid as if written on parchment, but nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to mean that it was necessary to the validity of

an Act or other public document previously passed or made that the Act or public document should be or have been on parchment.

(2) Bills as finally passed by the House of Assembly, together with amendments, shall be signed on the 1st page and initialled on subsequent pages by the Clerk of the House of Assembly, before being presented to the Lieutenant-Governor or officer administering the government of the province, for signature by him or her.

(3) The Bills so passed shall, at the close of a calendar year, be durably and uniformly bound and after that binding shall remain in the safekeeping and custody of the Clerk of the House of Assembly.

(4) After remaining in the safekeeping and custody of the Clerk of the House of Assembly for a period of 40 years, the clerk shall deposit the bound Bills referred to in subsection (3) with The Rooms Corporation of Newfoundland

and Labrador

RSN1970 c362 s6; 1977 c7 s2; 1979 c51 s28; 1993 c39 s1 ; 2016 cR-15.2 s35

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Publication of statutes

The statutes shall be published under the superintendence of the Queen's Printer.

1981 c58 s3

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Judicial notice

Judicial notice shall be taken of the enactment and contents of

an Act.

2010 c30 s2

PART II

FORM AND STATUS OF LEGISLATION

2010 c30 s3

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Interpretation

(1)In this Part

(a)

"consolidated legislation" means legislation into which are incorporated amendments that are enacted by the Legislature or filed by the Registrar of Subordinate Legislation under

Part II of the Statutes and Subordinate Legislation Act

(b)

"legislation" means Acts and subordinate legislation;

(c)

"legislation website" means the website of the House of Assembly for legislation and related materials that is available on the Internet at www.assembly.nl.ca or another website address specified by a regulation made under paragraph 17(a); and

(d)

"subordinate legislation" means subordinate legislation as defined in paragraph 9(1)(

e) of the Statutes and Subordinate Legislation Act

(2) A reference in this Part to amendment in relation to legislation is also a reference to repeal or revocation, unless a contrary intention appears.

2010 c30 s3

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Role of Chief Legislative Counsel

The Chief Legislative Counsel shall

(

a) maintain the electronic database of legislation and consolidated legislation for the legislation website so as to facilitate convenient and reliable public access to them; and

(

b) safeguard the accuracy and integrity of the electronic database of legislation and consolidated legislation that appears on the legislation website.

2010 c30 s3

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Official copy of legislation

(1)A copy of legislation or consolidated legislation is an official copy if it

(

a) is printed by the Queen's Printer; or

(

b) is accessed from the legislation website in a form or format prescribed in a regulation made under paragraph 17(b).

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a copy that is accompanied by a disclaimer to the effect that it is not intended as official.

(3) In the case of a copy referred to in paragraph (1)(b), the copy is accompanied by a disclaimer if the disclaimer is on the legislation website when the copy is accessed.

2010 c30 s3

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Presumption: printed copy

Unless the contrary is proved, a copy of legislation or consolidated legislation purporting to be printed by the Queen's Printer was so printed.

2010 c30 s3

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Presumption: website copy

Unless the contrary is proved, a copy of legislation or consolidated legislation submitted with an oral or written statement to the effect that it was accessed from the legislation website in a form or format prescribed in a regulation under paragraph 17(

b) was so accessed.

2010 c30 s3

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Official copy of legislation as evidence

Unless the contrary is proved, an official copy of legislation is an accurate statement of that legislation.

2010 c30 s3

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Official copy of consolidated legislation as evidence

Unless the contrary is proved, an official copy of consolidated legislation is an accurate statement of the law

(

a) in the case of an official copy described in paragraph 11(1)(a), on the consolidation date shown on the copy; and

(

b) in the case of an official copy accessed from the legislation website in a form or format prescribed in a regulation made under paragraph 17(b), during the period indicated on the legislation website in respect of the copy when the copy was accessed.

2010 c30 s3

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Legislation on legislation website not in force

(1)Legislation or consolidated legislation published on the legislation website shall include provisions that have been enacted by the Legislature or filed under

Part II of the Statutes and Subordinate Legislation Act

but that are not yet in force.

(2) Where a provision that is not yet in force is included in legislation published on the legislation website, the fact that it is not yet in force shall be indicated on the website, in the manner and to the extent the Chief Legislative Counsel may direct.

2010 c30 s3

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Regulations

The minister may make regulations

(

a) specifying another website address for the purpose of the definition of "legislation website" in paragraph 9(1)(c);

(

b) prescribing forms or formats, including print-outs, on-screen displays and other output of electronic data for the purpose of paragraph 11(1)(b),

section 13 and paragraph 15(b); and

(

c) generally, to give effect to the purpose of the Part.

2010 c30 s3

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