Andy Yu (University of Western Ontario) has posted What is Canada’s ‘Always Speaking’ Principle of Statutory Interpretation? (Alberta Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Although Canada has long recognized the principle from England that statutes are “always speaking”, the judicial and scholarly discussion of the principle in Canada has been limited. The limited discussion gives the deceptive impression that we understand the principle well enough. In this article, I argue that Canada’s “always speaking” principle is undertheorized. The extant discussion leaves important questions unanswered, and the controversial nature of possible answers to these questions is real. Canada’s understanding of the principle, as one of dynamic statutory interpretation, aligns with the understanding in the UK and Australia, where there is growing controversy over the “always speaking” principle. This shared understanding makes Canada’s principle vulnerable to the controversies that have plagued the principle there. I close by proposing an account that answers the important questions identified in this article.
Recommended!
To receive new posts from Legal Theory Blog by email, get a free subscription to Legal Theory Stack.
Lawrence Solum