The Treasury Board of Canada has proposed allowing all federal regulatory organizations to incorporate internal documents “by reference” to have the same force of law as regulations, without the need to make regulatory changes each time the document is updated.
If approved, civil servants will be able to revise internal documents, with the changes automatically incorporated by reference to have force of law. The new process would create efficiency and improve speed, “but it means that changes could be made without the same level of oversight that would normally be applied for changes to regulations.”
- The proposal requires that documents be available, free of cost, in both languages, and listed in a centralized location.
- The proposal requires a document management plan be published for each document.
- The proposal does not require that any portion of the published document management plan be made publicly available.
- The proposal does not require public notice of internal documents incorporated by reference.
- The proposal does not require the location of the centralized list be made public, or that access to the database be free of cost.
On March 23, 2023 the government invited comments — and 24 comments have been submitted to date.
To read the proposal and add your voice, visit https://letstalkfederalregulations.ca/ibr/forum_topics/ibr_forum
The consultation closes on May 25, 2023
