Researching Legislative Intent

The use of legislative history and legislative evolution as aids to interpret legislative intent was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1998. Since then, legislative history research has become important to the legal profession. Researching legislative intent, however necessary, is not straightforward. The wealth of materials available requires researchers to understand the legislative process, and to locate and use a variety of parliamentary materials, websites, and libraries.

Researching Legislative Intent: A Practical Guide is the first comprehensive resource that guides researchers through this complex task. Starting with the history of the use of legislative intent in the courts and an overview of the legislative process, this book then provides detailed descriptions of the sources available to compile a legislative history and trace the evolution of statutes and regulations. It also looks at the background of the use of legislative intent in interpreting treaties with Indigenous peoples and provides research checklists. It will be a go-to resource for legal researchers in law firms; academic institutions; and government, courthouse, and law society libraries.

Researching Legislative Intent: A Practical Guide is the first comprehensive resource that guides researchers through this complex task. Starting with the history of the use of legislative intent in the courts and an overview of the legislative process, this book then provides descriptions of the sources available to compile a legislative history.

• Imprint: Irwin UTP
• Published: September 2019
• Pages: 312

• pdf: 9781552215142

Susan Barker is the digital services and reference librarian at the Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Information Studies degree from the University of Toronto and teaches legal literature and librarianship at the University of Toronto iSchool. She is also a contributor to Legal Problem Solving — Reasoning, Research and Writing (4th to 8th ed), and a coauthor of The Ultimate Guide to Canadian Legal Research (1st to 4th ed).

Erica Anderson, BA, MISt, is the manager of digital and web content at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and was previously a research librarian at the Ontario Legislative Library. She has worked in law firm libraries in Toronto and London, UK; was president of the Toronto Association of Law Libraries; and was a member-at-large for the Canadian Association of Law Libraries Executive Board.

This is the first time we've seen a comprehensive resource that takes researchers through the sometimes-difficult task of researching both federal and provincial legislation. It is written by legal information professionals for legal information professionals, lawyers, and anyone who finds themselves researching federal and provincial legislation in Canada…. It is easy to see why this publication was shortlisted for CALL/ACBD's prestigious 2020 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing. It is easy to read and doesn't get caught up in technicalities. The detailed table of contents, the handy checklists found throughout the book, the glossary, and the index are all very well put together. The authors refer to numerous helpful resources and tell you where to find them. The footnotes throughout lead to other excellent materials.