Discussions of the temporal operations of statutes are available from a number of secondary resources, some of which are listed here.
General Online Resources
(available on the public access computers in Courthouse Library BC branches and also available in print format):
The Canadian Encyclopedic Digest, CED, (available through LawSource) has commentary on the retroactive effect and retrospective effect of statutes. Searching or browsing the CED will lead you to the following folder hierarchy:
CED
Statutes
IV - Operation of Statutes
4 - Retroactive Effect and Retrospective Effect
(a) Declaratory Enactments
(b) Retroactive Statutes and Retrospective Statutes - General Rule
(c) Statutes Relating to Procedure
The Canadian Abridgment, CA, (available through LawSource) also has commentary on this topic. If you have already navigated to the relevant CED pages, there will be direct cross-reference links to the CA pages and vice versa, but the CA hierarchy is as follows:
CA
Subject Title: Statutes
Classification number: III.1
Halsbury's Laws of Canada, available on Quicklaw, also has commentary on retroactivity and temporal application of legislation which can be found according to the following hierarchy:
HLG - Legislation
V. - Application of Legislation
1. - Temporal Application
The Irwin Law e-Library offers online access to Statutory Interpretation, 2nd edition, by Ruth Sullivan in Chapter 13 - The Presumed Application of Legislation.
Additional Online Resource for Criminal Practice
Criminal Pleadings and Practice in Canada by Ewaschuk is available online through the Criminal Spectrum database and the browsing hierarchy to the relevant section is as follows:
Criminal Spectrum
Commentary
Criminal Pleadings and Practice in Canada (Ewaschuk)
Various Specific Matters
Chapter 33 - Statutory Interpretation
33.4180 - Retroactivity, Retrospectivity and Prospectivity
Print Resources
The following is a list of some of the print resources available through Courthouse Libraries BC are:
The Construction of Statutes, 2nd edition, by Driedger
The Interpretation of Legislation in Canada, 3rd edition, by Cote
Statutory Interpretation, 2nd edition, by Sullivan
Sullivan on the Construction of Statutes, 5th edition by Sullivan
Additional Print Resources for Criminal Practice
Criminal Pleadings and Practice in Canada, 2nd edition, by Ewaschuk
Criminal Practice Manual: a Practical Guide to Handling Criminal Cases, by Bentley