Casual Legal: The Interpretation Act
DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.
By Brad Smith
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider
Alberta’s Interpretation Act provides helpful guidance for municipalities drafting and interpreting their own bylaws, and for interpreting Alberta legislation, regulations, and other legal instruments falling under its definition of “enactment”.
“Enactment” is broadly defined under the Interpretation Act. Section 28(1)(m) defines it as including an act of the Alberta Legislature or a regulation or any portion of an act or regulation. This should be read together with section 1(1)(c) of the Interpretation Act, which defines “regulation” within the Act as including, among other things, a bylaw enacted in the execution of a power conferred by or under the authority of an act. This means that, unless they include a statement to the contrary, the Interpretation Act applies to municipal bylaws enacted pursuant to authority granted under the Municipal Government Act. Further, when interpreting Alberta legislation generally, the Interpretation Act applies unless there is a statement to the contrary.
Section 10 provides instruction on how enactments should be read and interpreted. It states that an “enactment shall be construed as being remedial, and shall be given the fair, large and liberal construction and interpretation that best ensures attainment of its objects.”
In drafting, one onerous task can be setting out a long, comprehensive list of definitions. Section 28 provides a starting point list of general definitions that apply to all enactments, including definitions of common terms like “holiday”, “municipality”, “person”, and “writing” or “written”. While these terms may not relieve a municipality of the task of setting out definitions in its bylaws, they provide clarity on common terms and allow the drafting of definitions to focus on key terms relevant to a specific enactment.
Complimentary to its definition of “holiday”, the Interpretation Act also includes in section 22 a series of helpful rules for computing time limits and periods of time set out in bylaws and other enactments.
The Interpretation Act includes many other helpful provisions, addressing matters like timing of commencement and repeal of enactments, default rules of majority and quorum of boards, and powers relating to authority to make appointment of persons, among other things. When questions arise regarding bylaw drafting or the interpretation of legislation and other enactments, the Interpretation Act may provide a useful aid to interpreting common words and phrases, timelines, and the general approach to interpretation.
To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1.800.661.7673 or email casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (casuallegal[at]abmunis[dot]ca) and reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please contact riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (riskcontrol[at]abmunis[dot]ca), or call 310.MUNI (6864) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.
