A citation or reference to a bill includes (a) the full title and number of the bill (b) the specific session in the relevant legislature responsible for the bill, as well as (c) the year of the bill and (d) additional information in parentheses (usually the specific reading or, in the case of a vote, passage of a bill completes the reference) (McGill Law Journal, 2023, E-29). See the following sample reference to Bill C-51 for an example of this formatting:
Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, 2nd Sess, 41st Parl, 2015 (as passed by the House of Commons 6 May 2015).
In the above reference, the following elements are included as follows:
a) Number of bill: Bill C-51
b) Name of bill: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act
c) Specific session in the relevant legislature (Parliament): 2nd Sess, 41st Parl
d) Year: 2015
e) Additional information in parentheses: (as passed by the House of Commons 6 May 2015)
The University of British Columbia's Legal Citation Guide also includes several example references to a bill under the section on "Legislation". For information on how to identify a specific location of cited text within a legal citation to a bill or other legal resources, please see What is a Pinpoint, and How is it Used in a Legal Citation?.
For general information on McGill Guide (10th ed.) legal citations and references, please see the resources under Canadian Cases, Statutes, and Legislation on the Writing Centre website.
Reference
McGill Law Journal. (2023). Canadian guide to uniform legal citation (10th ed.). Thomson Reuters.
