Weights and Measures Act (R.S. 1985)
Encyclopedia
Weights and Measures Act (R.S. 1985) is a Canadian law governing the units of measurements used in Canada
.
Originally passed in 1970 as part of the federal government's plan for metrication of Canada from Imperial measures, it was stopped in 1985 and changes were made to the Act. The Metric Commission was created by the Act and abolished in 1985.
The act sets forth the regulation of measurements and the commerce conducted using measuring devices. The act provides that the International System of measurement be used with what the act calls "Customary units used with the international system" such as hour
, minute
s, litre
s, hectare
s, tonne
or metric ton.
In addition, the act allows usage of what the act labels as "Canadian units" (the imperial system), such as mile
s, inch
es, imperial gallons, and acre
s. In SCHEDULE III - section 5, the act also provides for the usage of certain French units in what it labels as UNITS OF MEASUREMENT TO DESCRIBE CERTAIN LAND IN QUEBEC. The five permitted old French units are the foot (the French foot of 12.789 inches), arpent
(for both length
and area
), and perch (for both length and area).
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Originally passed in 1970 as part of the federal government's plan for metrication of Canada from Imperial measures, it was stopped in 1985 and changes were made to the Act. The Metric Commission was created by the Act and abolished in 1985.
The act sets forth the regulation of measurements and the commerce conducted using measuring devices. The act provides that the International System of measurement be used with what the act calls "Customary units used with the international system" such as hour
Hour
The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...
, minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s, litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
s, hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s, tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
or metric ton.
In addition, the act allows usage of what the act labels as "Canadian units" (the imperial system), such as mile
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
s, inch
Inch
An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es, imperial gallons, and acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s. In SCHEDULE III - section 5, the act also provides for the usage of certain French units in what it labels as UNITS OF MEASUREMENT TO DESCRIBE CERTAIN LAND IN QUEBEC. The five permitted old French units are the foot (the French foot of 12.789 inches), arpent
Arpent
An arpent is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman actus. It is used in Quebec as well as in some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana.-Unit of length:...
(for both length
Length
In geometric measurements, length most commonly refers to the longest dimension of an object.In certain contexts, the term "length" is reserved for a certain dimension of an object along which the length is measured. For example it is possible to cut a length of a wire which is shorter than wire...
and area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
), and perch (for both length and area).
See also
- Canadian unitsCanadian unitsCanadian units are the traditional weights and measures used in Canada. The country has officially adopted the metric system, but still maintains legal definitions of the imperial units under Schedule II, Section 4 of the Weights and Measures Act...
- Metrication OrdinanceMetrication OrdinanceThe Metrication Ordinance was enacted in 1976 in Hong Kong. The law allowed a gradual replacement of the Imperial units and Chinese units of measurement in favor of the International System of Units Metric System. The adoption was facilitated under the government's Metrication Committee....
- Metric systemMetric systemThe metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
- Metrication in CanadaMetrication in CanadaCanada has converted to the metric system for many purposes but there is still significant use of non-metric units and standards in many sectors of the Canadian economy...
- Metric CommissionMetric CommissionThe Metric Commission, formally the Preparatory Commission for the Conversion to the Metric System was a Canadian government agency established by the federal government in 1971 to facilitate Canada's conversion to the Metric system from the imperial system of weights and measures and to educate...
- Measurement Information Division of Industry Canada
- Measurement CanadaMeasurement CanadaMeasurement Canada is a Canadian government agency of Industry Canada whose mission is "to ensure equity and accuracy where goods and services are bought and sold on the basis of measurement, in order to contribute to a fair and competitive marketplace for Canadians." The agency is headed by a...
- Units of measurement in France before the French RevolutionUnits of measurement in France before the French Revolution200px|thumb|right|Woodcut dated 1800 illustrating the new decimal units which became the legal norm across all France on 4 November 1800Before the Revolution French units of measurement were based on the Carolingian system, introduced by the first Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne which in turn were...
- Weights and Measures ActWeights and Measures ActA Weights and Measures Act is an Act of Parliament determining trade law where the weight or size of the goods being traded are important. For example, if a bottle of milk is for sale and has a label saying it contains one pint, then the law states that it must contain that amount.-United...