Bill S-17: Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023

On March 19, 2024, the Government of Canada introduced legislation to make minor, non-controversial amendments to various federal statutes. These changes address out of date provisions and issues such as errors in grammar, spelling, terminology and punctuation, erroneous cross-references, archaic language and discrepancies between the English and French versions.

The Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment (MSLA) Program is a periodic legislative exercise administered by the Department of Justice. It is used to correct anomalies, inconsistencies, outdated terminology or errors in federal statutes and related regulations.

Since the MSLA Program was established, 12 Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Acts have been passed, most recently in 2017.

The proposed legislation would amend 58 statutes and 3 related regulations, including:

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Federal Courts Act
• Canadian Human Rights Act
• Judges Act
• Divorce Act
• Civil Marriage Act
• Aeronautics Act
• Rules of the Review Tribunal (Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal)