APA Style 7th ed - Citation Guide for Nursing & Health Sciences

The Publication Manual covers legal references in chapter 11 (pp. 354-369), including how APA Style differs from legal style, but it only provides legal reference examples for the U.S. and the United Nations. For other jurisdictions, it refers to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (2015) for guidance.

The examples in this guide interpret APA Style using The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (10th ed., 2023), a standard work that is commonly referred to as The McGill Guide. 

Canadian statues were last revised in 1985 and consolidated in the Revised Statutes of Canada (RSC). Acts in effect at that time are cited as RSC 1985. Acts passed after 1985 are cited with the Statutes of Canada (SC) as the Source.

Basic Format:

Name of Act., Title Source and Section Number (Year). URL

• See the Publication Manual 11.5 (p. 361)

RSC Example:

Reference List

Canada Health Act, RSC c. 6 (1985). https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C-6.pdf

• RSC is the Source, and c. 6 is the Section. That is, the Act is chapter 6 of the Revised Statues of Canada.
• 1985 is the publication date of the Source (the RSC) and not the date of the most recent update to the Act.

Parenthetical in-text:  (Canada Health Act, 1985)
Narrative in-text:  Canada Health Act (1985)

SC example:

Reference List

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, SC c. 19 (1996). https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C-38.8.pdf

• SC is the Source, and c. 19 is the chapter. That is, the Act is chapter 19 of the Statues of Canada.
• 1996 is the year the Act was first added to the Statutes of Canada as part of an annual compilation.

Parenthetical in-text:  (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, 1996)
Narrative in-text:  Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (1996)

BC statues were last revised in 1996 and consolidated in the Revised Statutes of British Columbia (RSBC). Acts in effect at that time are cited as RSBC 1996. Acts passed after 1996 are cited with Statutes of British Columbia (SBC) as the Source.

Basic Format:

Name of Act., Title Source and Section Number (Year). URL

• See the Publication Manual 11.5 (p. 361)

RSBC example:

Reference List

Child, Family and Community Service Act, RSBC c. 46 (1996). https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96046_01

• RSBC is the Source, and c. 46 is the Section. That is, the Act is chapter 46 of the Revised Statues of British Columbia.
• 1996 is the publication date of the Source (the RSC) and not the date of the most recent update to the Act.

Parenthetical in-text:  (Child, Family and Community Service Act, 1996)
Narrative in-text:  Child, Family and Community Service Act (1996)

SBC example:

Reference List

Personal Information Protection Act, SBC c. 63 (2003). https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/03063_01

• SBC is the Source, and c. 63 is the Section. That is, the Act is chapter 63 of the Statues of British Columbia.
• 2003 is the year the Act was first added to the Statutes of BC as part of an annual compilation.

Parenthetical in-text:  (Personal Information Protection Act, 2003)
Narrative in-text:  Personal Information Protection Act (2003)

Basic Format

Title of case, jurisdiction (Year). URL

Reference List

Advantage Tool & Machine Ltd. v. Cross Industries Ltd. BCSC 104. (2023). https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/23/01/2023BCSC0104.htm

Sanis Health Inc. v. British Columbia, SCC 40. (2024). https://scc-csc.ca/judgments-jugements/cb/2024/40864/

In Text

(Sanis v. British Columbia, 2024)