Justice Lamer did so
by determining that the evidence of those «present at the creation» — those involved in the drafting — should be given minimal weight, since statements
by «civil servants» were not sufficiently indicative of the intentions of the
legislative bodies that
adopted the Charter.
Common law, as the
body of law made
by judges, 7 stands in contrast to and on equal footing with statutes which are
adopted through the
legislative process, and regulations which are promulgated
by the executive branch.