Sir John A. Macdonald Day and the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day Act

How it changed on the way

51% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (291 words introduced, 271 passed).

moderate changeintent kept

The bill passed with the addition of the royal assent date and minor formatting fixes to line breaks and hyphenated words. All substantive provisions on the two commemorative days and the preamble remained unchanged.

• Added royal assent date to the title block.

  After: “[Assented to 21st March, 2002]”

• Adjusted hyphenation and line breaks in the title and preamble.

  Before: “Macdonald Day and Sir Wil- frid Laurier Day”

  After: “Macdonald Day and Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day”

How precisely it is written

preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard

The Act uses exact calendar dates and fixed names to designate two annual days across Canada. No subjective language or discretionary powers appear in the operative sections.

Clear-cut

• “the 11th day of January shall be known under the name of "Sir John A. Macdonald Day"”

  Fixes a specific date and name with no room for interpretation.

• “the twentieth day of November shall be known under the name of "Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day"”

  Uses a precise numerical date and official name without qualifiers.

• “Throughout Canada, in each and every year”

  Applies uniformly with objective temporal and geographic scope.

Discretion. No authority is delegated to ministers, officials or regulations; the designations are set directly by statute.

Challenging the law itself. The law creates no prohibitions or requirements that could engage Charter rights such as freedom of expression or equality.

Disputing a charge under it. The Act imposes no duties on individuals, so no conduct can be alleged as a breach.

Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.