tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7665355359899630254.post5391958363692447736..comments2023-12-20T07:29:21.752-05:00Comments on Administrative Law Matters: Charter Application by Administrative Tribunals: Statutory InterpretationPaul Dalyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13433629868698007121noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7665355359899630254.post-77550761194044074262014-06-12T17:19:10.662-04:002014-06-12T17:19:10.662-04:00Professor Daly,
Very interesting post. I suspect...Professor Daly,<br /><br />Very interesting post. I suspect I know the answer to this question, but indulge me: how concerned are you that your radical approach will essentially boil down to administrative decision makers reaching whatever result they please, relatively clear statutory wording to the contrary notwithstanding? Charter values, as you know, are myriad and extremely abstract. They include such values as democracy, liberty, autonomy, all the freedoms, equality, and the Charter value to swallow all Charter values, "human dignity". It would be the rare result that could not be achieved by relying upon one of the full range of uncontested 'goods' in a democratic society's lexicon. <br /><br />At risk of sounding (and being) overly-dramatic, if ADMs can ignore principles of statutory interpretation, and need identify no ambiguity to bring Charter values to bear, what's the point of writing down laws at all? Or rather, why would we call them laws? Why not just create an agency, set out a range of relatively comprehensive but optional guidelines, and go from there?<br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />- Concerned in CanadaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com