Words and Phrases - "in pari materia"
The Queen v. York Marble, Tile and Terrazzo Ltd., [1968] S.C.R. 140, [1968] CTC 44, 68 DTC 5001
After finding that marble slabs which were cut, reinforced and finished (through rough and fine polishing) were “goods produced or manufactured in Canada” within the meaning of s. 30(1)(a) of the Excise Tax Act, R.S.C. 1952, Spence J found that this view was confirmed by Schedule III to the Excise Tax Act, which referred to the production of cut flowers, straw, raw furs and wool not further prepared than washed, and by two Customs Tariff items, one of which referred to “marble, not further manufactured than sawn,” stating (at pp. 148-9, SCR):
In at least two recent decisions, the Court has considered the schedules to the Customs Act as being a revenue statute in pari materia and therefore an aid in the interpretation of words in the Excise Tax Act. In Bradshaw v. Minister of Customs and Excise, [1928] S.C.R. 54… Duff C.J., when considering the phrase “nursery stock” as used in subs. (4) of s. 19BBB of c. 8 of the Statutes of Canada, 5 Geo. V, pointed out that in the Customs Tariff the words used were “trees, plants and shrubs, commonly known as nursery stock” and in The King v. Planters Nut and Chocolate Company Ltd., [1951] Ex. C.R. 122, [1951] C.T.C. 16, Cameron J., at p. 130, said:
It is of considerable interest, also, to note that in the tariff rates under The Customs Act (which, as a revenue Act, I consider to be in pari materia), separate items are set up for fruits, for vegetables, and also for “nuts of all kinds, not otherwise provided, including shelled peanuts”. This would seem to indicate that in the minds of the legislators, nuts were not included in the categories of fruits or vegetables, and also that peanuts fell within the category of nuts.
When one calls in aid of the construction of the words “manufactured” and “produced” in s. 30(1)(a) of the Excise Tax Act, the provisions of the Customs Tariff, items 306(b) and 306(c)…it would appear that the legislators regarded mere sawing of both building stone and marble as being the manufacture thereof. I view these considerations of both the exemptions in Schedule C of the Excise Tax Act and the items in the Customs Act as being confirmatory of my view… .
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 125.1 - Subsection 125.1(3) - Canadian Manufacturing and Processing Profits | finishing marble slabs was producing and likely also manufacturing | 309 |
E.H. Price Ltd. v. The Queen, 83 DTC 5288, [1983] CTC 289 (FCA)
In connection with finding that a statement in the Excise Tax Act that taxes payable thereunder were recoverable "at any time" meant that no statute of limitations barred any claim for taxes in the current proceedings, Clement DJ stated (at p. 5293, DTC):
Both counsel referred to a wide assortment of statutes that employ the phrase "at any time" in a variety of contexts. Construing the phrase in the context of its use in other statutes is merely an exercise in the production of irrelevancies unless the project can be fairly said to come within the canon of construction known as in pari materia. I accept the following passage in Craies on Statute Law, 7th Edition, page 134:
Where Acts of Parliament are in pari materia, that is to say, are so far related as to form a system or code of legislation, the rule as laid down by the twelve judges in Palmer's Case, is that such Acts "are to be taken together as forming one system, and as interpreting and enforcing each other".
If such relation does not exist between the statutes, then the passage at page 133 is applicable:
In the interpretation of statutes the courts decline to consider other statutes proceeding on different lines and including different provisions, or the judicial decisions thereon.
There has been no discernible effort at Bar to show that the assortment of statutes brought to the notice of this Court are in pari materia, nor do their disparate titles and legislative sources inspire hope that such an effort would avail.