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Public International Law - Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act (CUSMAIA). Janssen Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General)
In Janssen Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General) (Fed CA, 2024) the Federal Court of Appeal considers the interpretive interaction of international treaties and Canadian legislation, here in relation to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act and related treaty:[4] It is trite that while international treaties can form part of the context relevant to the adoption of legislation, they do not amend legislation: Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. v. Entertainment Software Association, 2022 SCC 30, 471 D.L.R. (4th) 391. For good measure, section 3 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, S.C. 2020, c. 1 provides that the Agreement is to be used to interpret legislation, not amend it. And subsection 30(3) of the Food and Drugs Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-27 empowers the Governor in Council to make regulations bringing the Agreement into effect, but as far as subsection C.08.004.1(1) is concerned, it has not made any change. While subsection C.08.004.1(2) provides that the purpose of section C.08.004.1 is to implement articles 20.48 and 20.49 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, it continues to provide that the section is to implement article 39 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, 1869 U.N.T.S. 299, which supports the previous interpretation of subsection C.08.004.1(1).
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