SEARCHING BY WORD OR PHRASE
- This is the simplest method, and the best way to start.
- All text-base searches include the full text of every act included in the database.
- Proper names are rarely spelled consistently in this period (for example, "MacDonald" will often be spelled "M'Donald"), so be sure to try multiple spellings if you don't find what you're looking for the first time. Be sure to check the transcribed acts for proper names as they will include variants you can search for.
- When it comes to phrases, try searching for combinations of words as opposed to specific, structured sentences.
- You can also search for partial words (example: a search for "wom" will result in "woman," "women," and "womb.")
SEARCHING BY DATE
- BNALD only captures years not exact dates.
- To search by date, select the year from the "start date" drop down menu, and a year from the "end date" drop down menu.
- If you are looking for a single year, it is important to make the selection from both the "start date" and "end date" menu. For example, if you are searching for 1833, select "1833" from the "start date" drop down menu, and "1833" from the "end date" drop down menu.
SEARCHING BY PROVINCE
- Select the province you want from the "Province" menu
- If you wish to select more than one province for a search, you can do so by holding down the "Ctrl" (control) button on a PC, or the "Command" button on a Mac, while clicking the names of the provinces you wish to search.
- The "Province" menu lists the provinces which currently have content available, with the date range of legislation available to search.
Not all of the original target provinces and legislation were completed prior to termination of the project. The original planned provinces and date ranges included:
- Bas-Canada (1792-1838) - these are the French copies of the Lower Canada legislation, the only province to publish acts in both languages
- Cape Breton (1785-1820)
- Imperial Acts - acts passed by the Imperial parliament in London but which were appended to the provincial legislative acts by the provincial assembly.
- Nova Scotia (1758-1867)
- Prince Edward Island (1773-1867)
- New Brunswick (1786-1867)
- Lower Canada (1792-1840)
- Newfoundland/Labrador (1832-1867)
- United Canadas (1841-1866)
- Vancouver Island (1859-1863)
SEARCHING BY CONCEPT In cases where the usual search terms might not be effective, you can search for acts by "Concept" or themes. For example, the "Acadian" concept tag applies to acts which refer to Acadian lands, aboiteaux, and family names, which are rarely spelled consistently. In order to search by "Concept," select the concept you want from the "Concepts" drop-down menu and then click on the "Search" button. Tips:
- Only one concept can be selected at a time.
- Concepts are meant as a categorization tool for researchers, and should not be used as a replacement for the search tool.
- Due to the fact that work on this project has ended, many acts did not get tagged. Please use caution if using metadata tag searches.
SEARCHING BY JURISDICTIONAL RELEVANCE Jurisdictional Relevance refers to the area to which the act is to be applied. For example, if an act is applicable to the entire province, then it is a provincial act. In order to search by "Jurisdictional Relevance", select the jurisdictional relevance you want from the "Jurisdictional Relevance" drop-down menu on the left and click the "Search" button. Tips:
- Only one Jurisdictional relevance tag can be selected at a time.
- Due to the fact that work on this project has ended, many acts did not get tagged. Please use caution if using metadata tag searches
COMBINING YOUR SEARCH TERMS Any and all of the above listed methods can be combined to further narrow your search.
USING YOUR RESULTS Once you have your results, appearing under the "Search" button, you can click on the name of the act to access the information on the specific act. This will include the title of the act, the province, year, its concepts, and jurisdictional relevance. You will also find a short description, information on the number of articles, and a thumbnail of the document. To read your selected document, simply click one of the two links that are found just below the thumbnail of the document. You can choose either the original version or the transcribed version, both of which are available in PDF format. Tip:
- If you want to keep the results of your search intact, it is best to right-click on the title of the act you wish to examine and select "open in new tab/window"
DOWNLOADING COPIES OF THE ACTS To save copies of the PDF files to your computer, you can:
- Open the PDF file, and save it as you would any other file on your computer, or
- Right-click on the links mentioned in the above paragraph and select "Save Link As." Follow the save dialogue as prompted by your computer.