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→The division of powers
===The division of powers===
The governments' different areas of legislative authority are described in [httphttps://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-43.html#h-18 17 sections 91] and [httphttps://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-43.html#h-19 92] of the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-1.html Constitution Act, 1867]''. The federal government can only make laws about the subjects set out in section 91, and the provincial governments can only make laws about the subjects set out in section 92.
From a family law perspective, this means that only the federal government has the authority to make laws about marriage and divorce, while the provincial governments have the exclusive authority to make laws about marriage ceremonies, the division of property, and civil rights. As a result, the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'' talks about divorce and issues that are related to divorce, like parenting children, child support, and spousal support, and the federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7w02 Civil Marriage Act]'' talks about marriage and issues related to marriage. The provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about parenting children, child support, and spousal support as well, but also talks about the division of family property and family debt, the management of children's property, the guardianship of children, and determining the parentage of children.