Foreword

• Author: Gregory Tardi
• Pages: 9-10

vii

Foreword

A modern Democratic jurisdiction that aspires to rely on the rule

of law in its system of governance must have a system of laws. In

the Canadian context, the most prominently palpable component of

the legal system is legislation; that is, the laws enacted by the federal

Parliament, by the provincial and territorial legislatures, and by their

delegates in the Executive Branch and in municipal institutions. is

book deals with such laws as a primary instrument of governance.

Informed readers should focus f‌irst on the scope of this volume.

John Mark Keyes and Wendy Gordon have charted here a complete

life cycle of legislation. It begins by discussing what legislation is

and what it does, as well as the purposes for which it is used. It then

addresses the drafting of legislative texts and the processes for trans-

forming them into law. It goes on to explain how legislation is found,

understood, and applied, including the interpretive principles and

techniques for resolving disputes about its meaning and application.

Among the works dealing with the Canadian system of written laws,

it is one of the most comprehensive in scope, encompassing both

how legislation is made and how it is interpreted and applied.

e scope of the treatment of the subject matter in this book

leads us to its actual and potential uses. Its utility for law students

and legal practitioners is self-evident. Legislative drafting as a