Interpretation: Statutes and Regulations

Cristina Henke; Mariam Barbar; Megan Rowe

Interpretation: Statutes and Regulations

Cristina Henke; Mariam Barbar; and Megan Rowe

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this chapter, learners will be able to:

Distinguish between statutes and regulations.
Outline the basic principles of statutory interpretation.

Introduction

The law shapes everyday life in more ways than we often realize (Government of Canada, 2021). Signing a lease to rent an apartment, applying for a marriage license, or driving with valid registration and insurance are all governed by legal rules. These requirements are not just technicalities—they exist to protect individual rights and maintain order in society. Laws establish clear rules but also safeguard important protections, such as workplace safety, consumer rights, and fair treatment. They also create access to benefits like workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, health care, and student loans. Because laws touch nearly every aspect of daily life, understanding how statutes and regulations are interpreted is essential. Interpretation ensures that the protections and responsibilities written into law are applied fairly, consistently, and in line with their legislative purpose.

The Relationship Between Statutes and Regulations

Statutes and Regulations are two important elements of the Alberta legal system. They are both used to guide the legal system in the fairest and procedurally correct direction.

Statutes establish the broad rules, while regulations provide the detailed procedures that make statutes workable. Regulations can only be created under the authority granted by their enabling statute.

Parliament or the Legislature creates statutes, also known as Acts. This legislation may create a new law or modify an existing one. While regulations are the rules that address the details and practical applications of the law, the authority to create a regulation related to a specific Act is assigned within the Act that empowers the regulation. Regulations must conform strictly to the limits that were laid out within the Act (Statutes and Regulations | LawCentral, n.d.).

Regulations provide detailed procedures and rules necessary for statutes to function; this happens because Acts and regulations depend on each other to work, so creating them together ensures they align. When the legislature is proposing to authorize regulations, whoever is creating the bill must consider who has the authority to make the regulation, what matters are being dealt with in the bill, and the regulations.

Statutes

Statutes, also known as Acts, are laws debated and passed by elected officials in federal and provincial legislatures (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations, 2008). In Alberta, Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are responsible for passing statutes. These laws form the foundation of the legal system by defining rights, responsibilities, and prohibitions.

Statutes can set out what conduct is prohibited and the penalties for breaking the law. For example, criminal statutes define specific offences and the punishments that may apply, such as fines or imprisonment (Justice Laws Website, 2025). Statutes also regulate the powers of government by clearly defining the responsibilities of agencies and officials, ensuring authority is distributed appropriately, and preventing misuse of power.

Within statutes, substantive provisions establish the core legal rules, rights, and obligations that individuals and organizations must follow (Ervine, 2023). These differ from procedural law, which governs how laws are enforced—for instance, court procedures or evidentiary rules.

Examples of important statutes include:

The Criminal Code of Canada, which defines criminal offences, penalties, and trial procedures to ensure consistency across the country.
The Canada Labour Code, which sets workplace rights and standards, protects employees from unsafe conditions, and is enforced through inspections and penalties by Employment and Social Development Canada.

Because statutes cannot anticipate every situation, courts play a crucial role in interpreting them. Judicial rulings resolve ambiguities, apply statutes to real-world cases, and shape their meaning through precedent, or “judge-made law” (Ontario Justice Education Network, 2013; Macnab, 2022). Using principles such as stare decisis and legislative intent, judges clarify unclear provisions and adapt older laws to new contexts. Over time, these interpretations become part of the common law and guide how statutes are applied and enforced (University of Alberta Libraries, n.d.; Jamesju, 2025).

Regulations

Regulations are detailed rules created under the authority of a statute to explain how the statute is applied, and govern the application or procedure of the law (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations, 2008). For example, regulations dictate how police officers are allowed to make arrests. They set out when police can and cannot use force, when they can search individuals or property, what they must do with any evidence they come across, and more. In this specific example, the Police Act, RSA 2000, c P-17, sets a foundation for the Police Service Regulation, Alta Reg 356/1990. Both the statute (Police Act) and the regulation (Police Service Regulation) work hand in hand to set out what is required of law enforcement officers and what steps to take if there is misconduct by law enforcement officers.

Bills & Statutes: The Legislative Process

Now that we have made the distinction between statutes and regulations, it’s important to know how statutes and regulations come to pass. As discussed earlier, statutes, or laws, in Alberta are passed by Members of the Legislative Assembly, also known as MLAs. The MLAs will introduce bills which will propose new laws, or propose changes to current laws. You can review any new and proposed bills on the A lberta Government website.

The legislative process for passing new laws in Alberta is outlined as follows:

The First Reading

This stage is called the first reading. This term comes from the early British Parliament, where someone would read the entire bill aloud to the House. However, now that printing is more common, only the title of the bill is read by the clerk. The bill is then studied by Members of the House, and they decide whether they support the entire bill, oppose the entire bill, or support certain parts of the bill (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations 2008).

The Second Reading

The next stage of this process is called the second reading. During the second reading, Members will debate the principle of the bill. During this process, the debate can sometimes become intense. It is the speaker’s “job” to keep things in control and still ensure that Members have a fair chance to voice their opinions. Once the second reading has concluded and Members have finished debating the bill, the Speaker calls a vote. If the Bill passes this stage, it goes to the Committee of the Whole (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations 2008).

The Committee of the Whole

The Committee of the Whole is a special committee of all Members that is composed to deliberate on bills or other matters. They will deliberate the Bill, clause by clause if needed. The Speaker of the House does not preside over this meeting; instead, they call upon another Member, or a Speaker pro tempore, meaning “for the time being” to preside instead. The MLAs meet as a committee with a chair, instead of as an assembly with a speaker. Once the Bill is done being debated by the Committee of the Whole, the chair will let the Speaker know if the committee has approved of the bill, and if they have any proposed amendments (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations 2008).

The Third Reading

The next stage is called the third reading, which is also the last stage of a Bill’s passage through the Assembly. Members will discuss, clarify, or criticize the Bill one last time before the final vote occurs. This vote is done by simple majority (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations 2008).

Royal Assent

If the majority votes to pass the Bill, then the Bill receives royal assent from the Lieutenant Governor, passes, and is officially law. If the Bill does not pass at any of these stages, then it must be reintroduced and will not become law.

Although the public is not directly involved in drafting or passing laws, our voices are represented through our elected officials. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are chosen by voters to represent their constituents in the law-making process. We elect MLAs based on our values and beliefs, and those MLAs vote on bills in the Legislature with the perspectives of their constituents in mind.

Regulations, on the other hand, are not passed directly by MLAs. Instead, the Legislature often delegates the power to make regulations to another body. This power is most commonly given to Cabinet (the Lieutenant Governor in Council) or to a Minister, but it may also be delegated to boards, commissions, or other authorities. Once created, regulations must be filed under the Regulations Act, RSA 2000, c R-14. After filing, the Legislative Counsel Office publishes them in Part II of the Alberta Gazette within 30 days, and once published, the regulations are binding on those they affect (A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations, 2008).

Regulations are enforced by the government department or agency responsible for the enabling legislation. Enforcement can include inspections, administrative orders, or fines, and in some cases, prosecution. Unlike statutes, regulations are generally not enforced by police unless the regulation creates an offence tied to criminal or quasi-criminal conduct (e.g., traffic violations). For example, workplaces themselves do not enforce regulations; rather, they must comply with them. Human rights protections in the workplace, such as the right to be free from discrimination based on religion, are enforced under the Alberta Human Rights Act, RSA 2000, c A-25.5, by the Alberta Human Rights Commission, not by individual employers. Employers must follow the law, but the Commission is responsible for investigating and enforcing compliance.

Statutes establish the foundation of the law, while regulations provide the detailed rules and procedures for carrying it out and enforcing it.

Statutory Interpretation Principles

We know that it is crucial for the general public to understand statutes in order to know their rights, freedoms, and responsibilities. In Canada, all levels of courts, from provincial and territorial courts to superior courts and appellate courts, interpret and apply legislation in the cases before them.

Superior courts, defined by the Government of Alberta as “the highest level of courts in a province or territory. They deal with the most serious criminal and civil cases and have the power to review the decisions of the provincial and territorial courts,” act as the official interpreters of legal texts (Government of Canada: The Judicial Structure, 2021).

One of the key doctrines in Canadian constitutional law is the principle of federal paramountcy, which holds that when a valid federal law conflicts with a valid provincial law, the federal law prevails under the division of powers set out in sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (Legislative Services Branch, 2025).

Because interpretation occurs at every level, it is important to understand how courts approach this task and what tools they use. This section will introduce two of these tools: the Plain Meaning Rule and the Golden Rule.

The Plain Meaning Rule

The Plain Meaning Rule states that if legislative text is clear, courts must apply it as written without interpretation. If the text is ambiguous, courts may then use interpretive rules and techniques (Sullivan, 2021). The rule relies on the immediate first impression of a competent reader, based solely on the words themselves. A text has plain meaning when the only reasonable interpretation is the initial one; it is ambiguous if more than one reasonable interpretation exists. When a statute has plain meaning, courts are bound to apply it directly. As Sullivan (2021) explains, courts may consult non-textual evidence (such as legislative purpose or consequences) to support plain meaning, but not to contradict it. For example, a court may refer to a dictionary to define an undefined term.

Elmer Driedger’s Modern Principle

The Golden Rule allows courts to depart from the ordinary meaning of words only where a literal interpretation would lead to absurd or inconsistent results. This ensures that legislation is applied reasonably without straying beyond the text itself. While the Golden Rule continues to influence Canadian interpretation, it has largely been subsumed within Elmer Driedger’s modern principle, which the Supreme Court of Canada endorsed in Rizzo & Rizzo Shoes Ltd. (Re), 1998 CanLII 837 (SCC), [1998] 1 SCR 27 at para. 21. Under this approach, legislation must be read in its entire context, in its grammatical and ordinary sense, and harmoniously with the scheme, object, and intent of the Act.

When applying the plain meaning of legislation would lead to an absurd or unintended result, the Golden Rule allows judges to adopt a more reasonable interpretation that reflects Parliament’s intent and avoids unfair consequences. This ensures that the true purpose of the law is preserved, rather than its strict literal wording.

These interpretations work together to guarantee that the law is applied the way it was intended, avoids any absurd outcomes, and considers the specific goals of the legislation.

Note: One of the most important aspects when reading statutes is Legislative Intent. When someone is interpreting a statute, it is important that they understand the intention that these lawmakers had when they drafted, introduced, and passed the law. Understanding their intention is helpful in understanding what the actual text is saying. Although the preamble is not enforceable, knowing the reasons policymakers created the legislation, often found in the preamble of the document, provides important context for interpreting the provisions and how the law is applied and enforced.

Judges can clarify the meaning of legislation through case law, either to extend or limit the scope of the legislation, through the process of judicial consideration. While over time, judges’ interpretations help to understand the laws and how their consideration is applied during certain situations, this allows for the continuous evolution of case law and legislation (LibGuides: Legal Research and Writing: Case Law, n.d.). Additionally, courts have the authority to strike down parts of an act or an act as a whole; this is if it is deemed unconstitutional. This is to ensure that all legislation aligns with the Constitution’s principles and that it does not violate fundamental rights and principles outlined in the Constitution (LibGuides: Research 101: How to Note-Up Statutes and Regulations: Home, n.d.).

Tracking Amendments and Updates in Legislation

Because statutes and regulations evolve, it is important to track amendments. Tools such as the Canada Gazette, Justice Laws, and Alberta Gazette provide official updates to help monitor these changes.

The following outlines tools for tracking legislative developments at both the federal and provincial levels. It is important to consider repealed or superseded legislation, with particular attention to changes to the section number, because while the statutes change over time, how they are interpreted and analyzed over time might change (Finding Alberta Legislation – Alberta Law Libraries, n.d.).

There are a few resources available to keep up to date with amendments in federal legislation:

There are also a few resources available to keep up to date with amendments in legislation on the provincial level; we will take a closer look at those resources, including the following:

Defining Legal Terminology

Legal texts often involve complex legal terminology and phrases that are not necessarily comprehensible to the majority of people, which makes them inaccessible to the general public. It is important to break down the legal jargon so that the law is easily understood and more accessible. According to the Canadian Federal Statutes: Terminology and Resources Guide (2025) et al, there are a number of terms that are most useful when it comes to understanding Canadian legal texts.

Statutes, also known as Acts

Statutes, also known as Acts, are passed by government bodies such as Parliament or a provincial legislature (LawCentral Alberta, n.d.). When statutes establish legal principles and rights, they are called substantive acts. Older statutes can be modified through amendments, known as amending acts, or nullified through repealing acts (Queen’s University Library, 2025).

Regulations

Regulations are legally binding rules that explain how statutes are applied in practice (LawCentral Alberta, n.d.). The authority to create regulations is granted within the Act itself. Regulations carry the full power of law.

Enabling Statute

An enabling statute is a law that grants authority for regulations to be created under it (Queen’s University Library, 2025). It provides the legal foundation for subordinate legislation.

Subordinate Legislation

Subordinate legislation, also known as delegated legislation, refers to legal rules or regulations made under the authority of a statute (Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library, 2025; Queen’s University Library, 2025).

Bill

In Canada, proposed laws begin as Bills. They often originate from citizen petitions, public advocacy, or government policy proposals. A Bill must go through several readings and approvals in Parliament before becoming law (Library of Parliament, n.d.).

Enactment

Enactment is the formal process by which laws are approved and put into effect (Justice Laws Website, 2025).

Legislation

Legislation is a general term that is used to refer to laws, regulations and other official rules created by government bodies (Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library, 2025).

Codified

Codification refers to the process of systematically organizing and consolidating laws into a formal legal code. In Canada, laws are often codified by subject, such as the Criminal Code (Department of Justice, 2021).

Amend

To amend a law means to modify or update it. This can include adding, removing, or revising provisions (Legislative Services Branch, 2025).

Repeal

To repeal a law means to formally revoke or nullify it, removing its legal effect.

Royal Assent

Royal Assent is the formal approval by Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor that gives a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly the force of law.

Coming into Force

Coming into Force is the date on which a law becomes enforceable. This can be the date the law receives royal assent, the date set forth in the act, or the date specified by the Governor General.

Not in Force

Acts that are Not in Force are not yet enforceable and are waiting for any rule, order, regulation, or proclamation to bring them into force.

Private Act

A Private Act is a law that is aimed at a specific individual or private institution.

Public General Act

A Public General Act is a law that is universally applicable and is permanent. These Public General Acts are periodically gathered, consolidated, and published as Revised Statutes. All of the Laws passed in a year are gathered together and published as the annual Statutes of Canada.

Annotated Statutes

Annotated statutes are volumes of statutes that are accompanying commentary and case notes, written section by section of the statute, they often include relevant regulations throughout the commentary. (LibGuides: Legal Research and Writing: Annotated Statutes, n.d.). Annotated statutes serve as a secondary resource.

Preamble

Preamble provides the purpose or intent behind the law.

Judicial Consideration

Judicial consideration refers to what subsequent court decisions have said about a particular case. It also refers to what cases have said about statutes and sections of a statute. (LibGuides: Legal Research and Writing: Judicial Treatment, n.d.)

Statutory Interpretation

The fundamental principle of statutory interpretation is that “the words of a statute 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 the legislature.” (Principles of Interpretation – Criminal Law Notebook, n.d.)

Summary

Understanding statutes and regulations is essential for effective legal research. Statutes provide the foundation of the law by setting out rights, duties, and prohibitions, while regulations supply the detailed rules and procedures needed to apply those laws in practice. Because statutes can be ambiguous or outdated, courts play a vital role in interpreting their meaning through precedent and principles of statutory interpretation. For paralegals and legal assistants, the ability to distinguish between statutes and regulations, track amendments, and apply interpretive tools is critical to providing accurate research, supporting legal arguments, and ensuring clients receive competent and current legal information.

Reflection Questions

Why is it important to distinguish between statutes and regulations when interpreting legislation?
How do substantive provisions in statutes affect your daily life, and how are they different from procedural law?
Think of an example where a statute might be unclear or outdated. How might a court’s interpretation help resolve this ambiguity?
How does the doctrine of precedent (stare decisis) influence the interpretation of statutes, and in what ways does considering legislative intent provide additional context for applying the law?

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