June 9 – Statutory Interpretation

“The overarching principle that guides courts when called upon to give meaning to statutory language is set out at para. 21 of the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in  Re Rizzo & Rizzo Shoes Ltd., 1998 CanLII 837 (SCC), [1998] 1 S.C.R. 27:

Although much has been written about the interpretation of legislation (citations omitted), Elmer Driedger in Construction of Statutes(2nded. 1983) best encapsulates the approach upon which I prefer to rely. He recognizes that statutory interpretation cannot be founded on the wording of the legislation alone. At p. 87 he states:

Today there is only one principle or approach, namely, the words of an Act are to be read in their entire context and in their grammatical and ordinary sense harmoniously with the scheme of the Act, the object of the Act, and the intention of Parliament.”

Children’s Aid Society of Waterloo v. D.D.,2011 ONCA 441 (CanLII) at 31