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31 Victoria, c. 1
Interpretation Act
[edit] Contents
The Interpretation Act
Preamble.
FORM OF ENACTING.
1. Form of enacting clause.
2. Other clauses to follow in concise form.
INTERPRETATION.
3. The interpretation clauses to apply to all Acts hereafter passed.
4. Date of Royal assent to be endorsed on every Act.
Effect of such endorsement.
5. Every Act may be amended during session in which it passes.
6. How enactments shall be construed.
1. To apply to the whole Dominion.
2. Application of expressions in present tense.
3. "Shall" and "may."
4. "Herein."
7. Interpretation of certain words.
Firstly. "Her Majesty," &c.
Secondly. "Governor," &c.
Thirdly. "Governor in Council, &c."
Fourthly. "Lieutenant Governor, &c."
Fifthly. "Lieutenant Governor in Council, &c."
Sixthly. "United Kingdom" "United States," names of places, &c.
Seventhly. Proclamation.
Eighthly. Governor acting by Proclamation.
Ninthly. County.
Tenthly. Number and Gender.
Eleventhly. "Person."
Preamble.
FORM OF ENACTING.
Form of enacting
1. The following words, may be inserted in the Preambles of
clause.
Statutes and shall indicate the authority by virtue of which
they are passed : "Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada,
enacts as follows :"
Other clauses to follow 2. After the insertion of the words aforesaid, which shall follow
in concise form.
the setting forth of the considerations or reasons upon which
the law is grounded, and which shall with these considerations
or reasons constitute the entire Preamble, the various clauses
of the Statute shall follow in a concise and enunciative form.
INTERPRETATION.
The interpretation
3. This section and the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth
clauses to apply to all
sections of this Act, and each provision thereof, shall extend
Acts hereafter passed.
and apply to every Act passed in the Session held in this
thirtieth Year of Her Majesty's Reign, and in any future
Session of the Parliament of Canada, except in so far as the
provision is inconsistent with the intent and object of such
Act, or the interpretation which such provision would give to
any word, expression or clause is inconsistent with the
context,and except in so far as any provision thereof is in
any such Act declared not applicable thereto ;Nor shall the
omission in any Act of a declaration that the "Interpretation
Act" shall apply thereto, be construed to prevent its so
applying, although
such express declaration may be inserted in some other Act or
Acts of the same Session.
Date of Royal assent to 4. The Clerk of the Senate shall endorse on every Act of the
be endorsed on every
Parliament of Canada, immediately after the title of such Act,
Act.
the day, month and year when the same was by the Governor
General assented to in Her Majesty's name, or reserved by him
for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon,---and
in the latter case, the Clerk of the Senate shall also endorse
thereon the day, month and year when the Governor General
has signified either by speech or message to the Senate and
House of Commons, or by Proclamation, that the same was
laid before Her Majesty in Council, and that Her Majesty was
pleased to assent to the same ;
Effect of such
And such indorsement shall be taken to be a part of such Act,
endorsement.
and the date of such Assent or Signification, as the case may
be, shall be the date of the commencement of the Act, if no
later commencement be therein provided.
Every Act may be
5. Any Act of the Parliament of Canada may be amended, altered
amended during
or repealed by any Act to be passed in the same Session
session in which it
thereof.
passes.
How enactments shall 6. In construing this or any Act of the Parliament of Canada,
be construed.
unless it is otherwise provided, or there be some thing in the
context or other provisions thereof indicating a different
meaning or calling for a different construction :
To apply to the whole
1. The enactments in any Act apply to the whole Dominion of
Dominion.
Canada ;
Application of
2. The Law is to be considered as always speaking, and
expressions in present
whenever any matter or thing is expressed in the present tense,
tense.
the same is to be applied to the circumstances as they arise, so
that effect may be given to each Act and every part thereof
according to its spirit, true intent and meaning ;
Proclamation.
Governor acting by
Proclamation.
County.
Number and Gender.
"Person."
"Writing," "written."
"Now" or "next."
"Month."
"Holiday."
"Oath," "Sworn,"
"Affirmed."
designation thereof ;
Seventhly. The word "Proclamation" means a Proclamation
under the Great Seal, and the expression "Great Seal" means
the Great Seal of Canada ;
Eighthly. When the Governor is authorized to do any act by
Proclamation, such Proclamation is understood to be a
Proclamation issued under an order of the Governor in
Council, but it shall not be necessary that it be mentioned in
the Proclamation that it is issued under such order ;
Ninthly. The word "County" includes two or more Counties
united for purposes to which the enactment relates ;
Tenthly. Words importing the singular number or the
masculine gender only, shall include more persons, parties or
things of the same kind than one, and females as well as
males, and the converse ;
Eleventhly. The word "person," shall include any body
corporate and politic, or party, and the heirs, executors,
administrators or other legal representatives of such person, to
whom the context can apply according to the law of that part
of Canada to which such context extends ;
Twelfthly. The words " writing," "written," or any term of like
import, shall include words printed, painted, engraved,
lithographed, or otherwise traced or copied ;
Thirteenthly. The word "now" or "next," shall be construed as
having reference to the time when the Act was presented for
the Royal Assent ;
Fourteenthly. The word "month" shall mean a calendar
month ;
Fifteenthly. The word "holiday " shall include Sundays, New
Year's Day, the Epiphany, the Annunciation, Good Friday, the
Ascension, Corpus Christi, St. Peter and St. Paul's Day, all
Saints Day, Conception Day, Easter Monday, Ash Wednesday,
Christmas Day, the Birth day of the reigning Sovereign, and
any day appointed by Proclamation for a General Fast or
Thanksgiving ;
Sixteenthly. The word "oath" shall be construed as meaning a
solemn affirmation whenever the context applies to any
person and case by whom and in which a solemn affirmation
may be made instead of an oath, and in like cases the word "
sworn" shall include the word "affirmed" :And in every
case where an oath or affirmation is directed to be made
before any person or officer, such person or officer shall have
full power and authority to administer the same and to certify
its having been made ;
Perjury.
"Sureties," "Security."
"Superior Courts."
"Registrar," "Register."
Contravention of Acts.
Punishment for
contravention.
Recovery of penalties
when no other mode is
prescribed.
Appropriation.
And the wilful making of any false statement in any such oath
or affirmation, shall be wilful and corrupt perjury,and the
wilful making of any false statement in any declaration
required or authorized by any Act, shall be a misdemeanor
punishable as wilful and corrupt perjury ;
Seventeenthly. The word "sureties" shall mean sufficient
sureties, and the word "security" shall mean sufficient
security, and where these words are used, one person shall be
sufficient therefor unless otherwise expressly required.
Eighteenthly. The words " Superior Courts" shall denote in the
Province of Ontario, the Court of Queens Bench, the Court of
Common Pleas and the Court of Chancery in the said
Province ; in the Province of Quebec the said words shall
denote the Court of Queens Bench and the Superior Court in
and for the said Province ; and in the Provinces of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick the said words shall denote the
Supreme Court in and for each of the said Provinces
respectively.
Nineteenthly. The words "Registrar" or Register" in any Act,
applying to the whole Dominion, shall mean and include
indifferently Registrars and Registers in the several Provinces
constituting the Dominion, and their Deputies, respectively ;
Twentiethly. Any wilful contravention of any Act, which is not
made any offence of some other kind, shall be a misdemeanor,
and punishable accordingly ;
Twenty-firstly. Whenever any wilful contravention of any Act
is made an offence of any particular kind or name, the person
guilty of such contravention shall, on conviction thereof, be
punishable in the manner in which such offence is by law
punishable ;
Twenty-secondly. Whenever any pecuniary penalty or any
forfeiture is imposed for any contravention of any Act,then,
if no other mode be prescribed for the recovery thereof, such
penalty or forfeiture shall be recoverable with costs by civil
action or proceeding at the suit of the Crown only, or of any
private party suing as well for the Crown as for himself,in
any form allowed in such case by the law of that Province
where it is brought,before any Court having jurisdiction to
the amount of the penalty in cases of simple contract,upon
the evidence of any one credible witness other than the
Plaintif or party interested ;
And if no other provision be made for the appropriation of
such penalty or forfeiture, one half thereof shall belong to the
Crown, and the other half shall belong to the private plaintiff,
if any there be, and if there be none, the whole shall belong to
the Crown.
"Magistrate," "Two
Justices."
Power to do anything
to include all
necessary powers for
doing it.
Imprisonment where to
be when no special
place is mentioned.
Deputy.
Appointments by
Governor to be during
pleasure.
Words constituting a
corporation to vest
certain powers in it.
As to Bank Charters.
Offences committed
and penalties incurred
not affected by repeal.
Preamble to be a part
of Act.
All Acts remedial, and
to be construed as
such.
Applicable Rules of
construction not
excluded.
Provisions herein to
apply to this Act.
Acts to be done by
more than two.
As to bills assented to
during and before the
end of the session.
any Session.
List to be furnished of 11. The Secretary of State of Canada shall, within fifteen days
persons to receive
after the close of each Session of Parliament, transmit is Her
copies.
Majesty's Printer a list of all the Public Departments,
Administrative Bodies and Officers to whom such copies are
to be transmitted as aforesaid, and shall also, from time to
time, as occasion requires, furnish him with copies of all
orders in Council made under the provisions of this Act.
If any copies remain, 12. If after the distribution of the said printed Acts any copies
&c.
remain in the hands of Her Majesty's Printer, he may deliver
any number thereof to any person by order of the Governor
General, on notice thereof by the Secretary of State of Canada,
or to the Members of the Senate or of the House of
Commons, on the order of the Speaker of the said Houses
respectively.
How Statutes shall be 13. The Statutes shall be printed in Royal Octavo Form, on fine
printed and bound.
paper, in Small Pica Type, thirty-two ems by fifty-five ems,
including marginal notes in Minion, such notes referring to the
year and chapter of previous Statutes, whenever the text
amends, repeals or changes the enactments of former years ;
and shall be half-bound in Cloth with backs of White Sheep
skin and lettered, with the exception of a certain number to be
named by the Standing Committee on Printing which shall be
bound in half-calf and gilt-lettered,
Classification of
and they shall be arranged for distribution in such manner
Statutes.
either by the binding of the Public General Acts, and Acts of a
local or private character in separate volumes, or by binding
them together in the same volumes with separate indexes or
otherwise as the Governor in Council may deem expedient.
Report by Printer as to 14. Her Majesty's Printer shall, before the opening of each Session
number of copies
of Parliament, make a Report in triplicate to the Governor
distributed.
General, (to be by him laid before each House of Parliament
within fifteen days after the opening of such Session),
shewing the number of copies of the Acts of each Session
which have been printed and distributed by him since the then
last Session, and the Departments, Administrative Bodies,
Officers and persons to whom the same have been distributed,
the number of copies delivered to each, and under what
authority, and the numbers of copies of the Acts of each
Session then remaining in his hands,
And as to expenses
and containing also a detailed account of the expenses by him
incurred by him.
actually incurred in carrying this Act into effect, to the end
that provision may be made for defraying the same, after such
account has been duly audited and allowed.
Obligations of parties 15. The party obtaining an Act of a private or personal character
obtaining private Acts.
shall furnish, at his own cost, one hundred and fifty printed
Short title.
SHORT TITLE.
16. This Act may be cited as The Interpretation Act.