Statutory Interpretation

Statutory Interpretation provides a clear and authoritative account of how legislation is interpreted and applied in Canada. Grounded in constitutional principles, including the rule of law, democracy, and constitutional supremacy, it traces the evolution of interpretive methodology as developed by the courts and synthesized in Elmer Driedger’s Modern Principle of Interpretation.

Legal experts Ruth Sullivan and John Mark Keyes explain how contemporary statutory interpretation hinges on three interrelated aspects of legislation: text, context, and purpose. The book draws attention to these three aspects – exploring in detail how each of these shapes legislative meaning – and integrates recent jurisprudence, particularly that of the Supreme Court of Canada. This updated edition retains the strengths of earlier editions while introducing a revised structure reorganized around the three core dimensions of interpretive analysis so that readers can see how they operate in practice and how they work together in the interpretation of statutes and other legislation.

Frequently cited by Canadian courts and tribunals, the fourth edition of this essential legal text provides an authoritative and up-to-date account of the methodology for interpreting legislation in Canada.

John Mark Keyes is a sessional professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, and an instructor in the Legislative Drafting Program of Athabasca University; he previously worked in the Legislative Services Branch of the Department of Justice Canada and was the Chief Legislative Counsel from 2005 until 2013.

Ruth Sullivan was a professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, for twenty-seven years, before joining the Legislative Services Branch of the Department of Justice Canada.