Judges often speak of finding the "intention of parliament" and, assigned the appropriate weight, courts are now willing to refer to legislative history to ascertain the purpose of legislation.

The legislative history of a statute is the collection of documents that were generated during the conception, preparation and passage of the enactment. This collection can include the parliamentary debates around the bill (the Hansard), and committee reports and transcripts. In addition, a variety of other sources may also be included, such as Ministerial statements, government policy papers, explanatory papers, press releases, royal commission or law reform commission reports that may have inspired the legislation, or even earlier versions of the statute.

This video tutorial will show you how to use online sources to find the parliamentary and committee debates for Ontario statutes passed between 1991 and the present.

For commentary on legislative histories as extrinsic aids to interpretation in the courts, consult books on statutory interpretation such as:

Ruth Sullivan, Statutory Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2007)

Ruth Sullivan, Sullivan on the Construction of Statutes, 5th ed. (Markham, Ont.: LexisNexis Canada, 2008)

Stéphane Beaulac, Handbook on Statutory Interpretation: General Methodology, Canadian Charter and International Law (Markham, Ont.: LexisNexis Canada, 2008)

Pierre-André Côté, The Interpretation of Legislation in Canada, 3rd ed. (Scarborough, Ont.: Carswell, 2000)