The appeal concerned whether the exemption in s. 65(1) of the Act respecting Municipal Taxation for machines, apparatus and accessories used mainly for industrial production excludes all buildings within the meaning of the Civil Code.
The Court held that the provision must be interpreted in its own legislative context and that industrial production, not traditional civil law categories of immoveables, is the controlling consideration.
The introductory wording of s. 65 does not distinguish between immoveables by nature and moveable objects placed for permanency, and the terms land and building must be read through the statutory framework rather than rigid civil law classifications.
The Court restored the administrative decision that had excluded certain plant components from the assessment roll and allowed the appeal with costs throughout.
