Before finding that the meaning of “distribution” in Reg. 4801(a)(ii) should be informed by the French version, whose equivalent expression was translated back into English as “public offering,” Monaghan JA stated (at paras. 198, 202):
To interpret bilingual legislation, we first search for a shared meaning between the French and English versions: R. v. S.A.C., 2008 SCC 47, [2008] 2 S.C.R. 675 at para. 14 [S.A.C.]. Where the plain meaning of the English and French versions is not clearly the same, the two versions must be reconcilable to find a shared meaning: S.A.C. at para. 15. If one version is “plain and unequivocal” and the other ambiguous, the former is the shared meaning: S.A.C. at para. 15, citing R. v. Daoust, 2004 SCC 6, [2004] 1 S.C.R. 217 at para. 28 [Daoust]. Where one has a broader meaning than the other, the narrower meaning is favoured: S.A.C. at 15, citing Schreiber v. Canada (Attorney General), 2002 SCC 62, [2002] 3 S.C.R. 269 at para. 56. …
The second step in the interpretive exercise is to determine whether the shared meaning is consistent with Parliament’s intent, having regard to the ordinary rules of statutory interpretation: S.A.C. at para. 16, citing Daoust at para. 30.