House of Commons Procedure and Practice
Edited by Robert Marleau and Camille Montpetit
2000 EditionMore information …

23. Private Bills Practice

My understanding of the private bill procedure is that it was established to protect the public against the uncontrolled granting of special powers to private interests. I believe that there is no quarrel about this interpretation.

Speaker Lucien Lamoureux
(Debates, February 22, 1971, p. 3628)

T

he distinction between public and private legislation has been inherited from British practice. [1]  Private bills differ from public bills by their intent, content and method of passage. By definition, the purpose or intent of a private bill is to confer special powers or benefits upon one or more persons or body of persons; or to exclude one or more persons or body of persons from the general application of the law. A public bill may be broadly described as a bill which deals with a matter of public policy for the benefit of the community at large and is introduced directly by a Member of the House. On the other hand, a private bill relates directly to the affairs of an individual or group of individuals, including a corporation, named in the bill; the bill seeks something which cannot be obtained by means of the general law and is founded on a petition from an individual or group of individuals. [2] 

Private bills must not be confused with private Members’ bills. Although private bills are sponsored by private Members, the term “private Member’s bill” refers to public bills dealing with a matter of public policy introduced by Members who are not Ministers.

Private bills are subject to special rules in both Houses of Parliament. Since private bills ask Parliament to adjudicate upon the interests of private parties and to be watchful over the interests of the public, they are said to involve Parliament in both a judicial capacity and a legislative capacity. [3]  Private bills can originate in either the House of Commons or the Senate, although most private bills originate in the Senate where the fees and charges imposed on the promoter are less. [4]  Private bills must pass through the basic procedural stages common to all legislation; they must also meet certain parliamentary requirements which distinguish them procedurally from all other types of bills.

Private bill procedure is unique in its origins, forms and principles and has changed very little since 1867. While they are now relatively rare, private bills once constituted a large part of the legislative business of the House. In the early years of Confederation, the House dealt with a large volume of private legislation to establish companies to build and operate railways and to incorporate interprovincial companies since no other legal authority allowed such corporations to be formed. In addition, private bills requesting the dissolution of marriages occupied much of the House’s time because Parliament had been granted the exclusive jurisdiction to legislate with respect to marriage and divorce.

Today, private legislation accounts for only a minuscule percentage of House business. [5]  Most private bills now deal with the incorporation of, or amendments to the acts of incorporation of, religious, charitable and other organizations and of insurance, trust and loan companies. [6]  In recent years, private legislation has been used for the amalgamation of insurance companies and the revival of small business corporations which have previously been dissolved. [7]  Although the reasons for this decrease in the passage of private bills vary, it is to a large degree due to changes to the general law, such as the Dissolution and Annulment of Marriages Act in 1963, [8]  and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act in 1990, [9]  and administrative mechanisms found in present acts such as the Canada Business Corporations Act[10]  the Canada Corporations Act [11]  and the Bank Act[12] 

This chapter explains in general terms the kinds of bills classed as private, describes the principles of private bill procedure and how they are applied, and gives an overview of the particularities of the legislative process for such bills in the House of Commons.

Nature of Private Bills

A private bill may benefit the private interest of a particular individual or group of individuals in one of two ways: [13] 

  • The bill may supplement the general law by granting the beneficiary power to do something which cannot be done otherwise; or
  • The bill may alter the general law by exempting the beneficiary from some existing legal obligation.

Thus, a bill which allows a group of individuals to form a type of corporation not provided for in the general law would be an example of a bill which supplements the general law. [14]  A bill which exempts an existing corporation from a general provision of a statute applicable to all such corporations would be an example of a private bill which derogates from the general law. [15]  Legislation which authorizes the marriage of two blood relations would be another example of a bill exempting one or more persons from the general law. [16] 

A bill may affect the private interest of an individual or a defined class of individuals and yet not be considered a private bill. [17]  In order that a bill be designated as private, it should not and cannot include any feature of public policy because such characterization would transcend any private nature it may have. [18]  A bill should be introduced as a public bill when it affects public policy, when it proposes to amend or repeal a public act, or when it affects a large area and multiplicity of interests. [19] 

Principles of Private Bill Procedure

As the Speaker noted in 1971, private bill procedure was established to protect the public against the uncontrolled granting of special powers to private interests. [20]  The person or organization affected petitions Parliament to grant some extraordinary favour set down in a bill. The facts upon which the bill is based are examined by both Houses of Parliament. If deemed necessary, the committee to which the private bill is referred may call witnesses to testify, and the committee will adjudicate whether the need for the bill has been demonstrated. Thus, in considering private bills, Parliament acts in both a judicial and legislative capacity. Like a court, Parliament will hear all parties involved and decide whether or not the interests of private parties justify additional rights or exemptions from the general law; as a legislature overseeing the passage of a bill, it is watchful over the interests of the public. [21] 

Four fundamental principles underlie and define private bill procedure as set out in the Standing Orders and the procedural authorities. [22]  These principles may be expressed in the following terms:

  1. A private bill should only be passed at the explicit request of the persons who are to benefit from the legislation.
  2. Pertinent information regarding a private bill should be made available to all interested persons.
  3. All persons or bodies affected by a private bill should be heard and the need for the bill demonstrated.
  4. The financial burden of considering a bill for the benefit of private interests should not be borne solely by the public treasury.

These principles are examined in detail in the pages that follow.

Principle 1. A Private Bill Should only be Passed at the Explicit Request of the Persons who are to Benefit from the Legislation

In the decision to proceed with a private bill, there is a balance to be achieved between the undoubted right of Parliament to initiate legislation and the recognition of the ancient fundamental right to petition Parliament for the redress of grievances. [23]  Unlike a public bill, which may be introduced after 48 hours’ notice either by the government (in the person of a Minister) or by a private Member, a private bill is only presented after a private Member has filed with the Clerk of the House a petition from the applicant for a private bill. [24]  It is well recognized in the Canadian House of Commons that Ministers may not sponsor private bills as the Crown cannot petition itself. [25] 

The rules respecting public petitions generally apply to petitions for private bills [26]  (see Chapter 22, “Public Petitions”). A private bill petition is presented to the House by a private Member who has signed the back of the petition and who will be acting as sponsor of the private bill. [27]  The petition for a private bil sets out the reasons why special legislation is requested, explaining what that legislation is intended to accomplish, and concludes with an explicit request for such legislation to be enacted. The petition must bear the signatures of the persons who are requesting the legislation and who are to benefit from it. The sponsor is responsible for ensuring that the form of the petition complies with the requirements set down in the Standing Orders. [28]  The Member may present the petition at any time during a sitting by filing it with the Clerk of the House. [29]  The usual practice, however, is for the petitioner for a private bill, or the petitioner’s parliamentary agent (see below), to deposit the petition with the Clerk of Petitions (a House official responsible for examining and reporting to the House on the form of petitions) who, after having the petition endorsed by the sponsoring Member, sees that it is filed with the Clerk of the House.

In addition to filing a petition, the applicant must deposit a copy of the bill, in English or French, with the Clerk of the House not later than the first day of the session if the bill is to originate in the House. [30]  An official appointed by the Clerk, acting as Examiner of Private Bills, examines and, if necessary, revises the bill before it is printed to ensure that it is drafted in accordance with the Standing Orders of the House. [31] 

Unlike a public bill which is introduced by either a Minister or a private Member and subsequently “belongs” to the House of Commons, a private bill belongs to the applicant and not to the Member of Parliament sponsoring the bill or to the House. Should the applicant decide not to proceed any further with the bill, the committee to which the bill was referred after second reading will report back to the House accordingly. [32] 

Although under no obligation to do so, the promoter of a private bill may choose to be represented before the House or any of its committees by someone who may or may not be a member of a provincial bar; this person is known as the promoter’s “parliamentary agent”. While a Member of Parliament must agree to present the petition and sponsor the bill, a Member cannot serve as parliamentary agent. [33]  In order for someone to act as parliamentary agent, that person must be so authorized by the Speaker and is personally responsible to the Speaker for the observance of the rules, practices and procedures of Parliament. [34]  The parliamentary agent acts as advisor and counsel for the petitioners throughout the various stages leading to the passage of the private bill and is responsible for the payment of all charges and fees prescribed by the Standing Orders.

No person may act as a parliamentary agent during any session without first paying a fee of $25. [35]  The person must also be involved in promoting or opposing a private bill or petition pending in Parliament during that session. However, because most private bills originate in the Senate, the parliamentary agent is registered and pays the $25 fee only if asked to represent the promoter before a House committee. Any parliamentary agent who willfully violates the Standing Orders or practices of Parliament or who deliberately behaves in an unbecoming manner when conducting proceedings before Parliament is liable to be barred, at the discretion of the Speaker, either permanently or temporarily, from exercising his or her duties as a parliamentary agent. [36] 

Principle 2. Pertinent Information Regarding a Private Bill should be made Available to all Interested Persons

The procedural requirements found in the Standing Orders respecting notice at various stages of private bills are not only directed towards Members but also to the public. The purpose of these notice provisions is to ensure that any person whose interests may be affected by the requested private legislation is sufficiently notified so that he or she may oppose or support the bill, in whole or in part, before its passage.

At the beginning of each session, the Clerk of the House publishes in the Canada Gazette [37] the Standing Order respecting notices of applications for private bills. [38]  Thereafter, a note referring to the previous publication of this Standing Order is published each week in the Canada Gazette[39] 

The Standing Orders also require that applicants for private bills place a notice of their intention to apply for a bill once a week for four consecutive weeks in the Canada Gazette[40]  The published notice should set out the intent of the proposed legislation, indicate during which session it is to be applied for, who the applicant is, and the address of the applicant or the applicant’s parliamentary agent. [41]  In certain cases, notices must also be sent to certain officials and be published in local newspapers. [42]  The applicant must provide proof of the publication of the notice by means of a statutory declaration (affidavit) sent to the Clerk of the House. [43] 

Since Members of Parliament may be asked to speak on behalf of the promoter or opponent of a bill, certain notices regarding the meetings of the committee on a private bill are posted by the Clerk of the House throughout the parliamentary precinct and appended to the Journals for a specified period of time before the committee sits. [44]  In the case of a bill originating in the Commons, there must be one week’s notice of a committee meeting; in the case of a bill originating in the Senate, the notice period is 24 hours. Lists of all private bills referred to committee, specifying the committee and dates on or after which the bills can be considered, as well as lists of all committee meetings must also be posted. [45]  Moreover, no significant amendment to a private bill may be proposed in the House unless one day’s notice has been given. [46] 

Finally, in addition to the notices, certain records regarding each private bill are kept by the staff of the House, and these records are open for public inspection. [47]  Records are kept of general information pertaining to the person or group applying for the bill or to the parliamentary agent, to the fees paid, and to the proceedings on the bill.

Principle 3. All Persons or Bodies Affected by a Private Bill Should be Heard and the Need for the Bill Demonstrated

Since a private bill makes certain assertions which are put forth in support of the request for legislation, they should be proven before Parliament agrees to enact the legislation being sought. The legislative function of Parliament demands that each measure be given due deliberation and orderly consideration. The judicial-like proceedings surrounding private bill practice demands, in addition, that those concerned be heard, or at the very least be given the opportunity to be heard.

The decision of the House to give second reading to a private bill does not mean that the House has approved the principle of the bill as is the case for a public bill. Rather, the House has given the bill a second reading conditional upon a committee’s finding that the assertions contained in the petition and repeated in the bill’s preamble have been proven. [48]  While a preamble is optional in a public bill, it is essential in all private bills. [49]  The procedure thus requires that a private bill be sent to committee so that opponents of the bill may be heard. Another reason why it is sent to committee is so that Parliament can satisfy itself that the matters raised in the preamble of the bill are true and that the provisions of the bill are a proper response to those assertions. The bill as reported from the committee, with or without amendments, may be said to be the committee’s decision on the petitioner’s request. [50] 

Private bills typically relate to subjects of a particular character, some of them purely personal, and thus do not evoke extensive debate in the House. The private interests being asserted by them, however, may occasionally infringe on other private rights. In this respect, the committee on a private bill carries out not just a legislative function but sits in a quasi-judicial capacity, hearing all parties concerned and ruling on whether the petitioner’s request should be granted. The committee must also be vigilant in preventing frauds from being perpetrated on Parliament by cross-examining the promoters on their claims made in the bill’s preamble. [51] 

The committee on a private bill does not hear witnesses in the same sense that a committee studying a public bill does. The promoter of the bill, who may or may not be represented by counsel, appears before the committee as the petitioner for relief of a legislative nature which the courts and governmental agencies cannot provide. The promoter, as opposed to the committee, may call witnesses to support the assertions put forth in the preamble of the bill. [52] 

Any opponents of a bill, whether or not represented by counsel, may also address the committee and may call witnesses in support of their position when the committee begins consideration of the particular clause or clauses being opposed. [53]  However, before an opponent of a private bill may be heard in committee, a petition against that part of the bill found to be objectionable must first be presented to the House. The petition must state the grounds for the objection; it is presented to the House on the opponent’s behalf by a Member who may submit it to the Clerk of the House at any time while the bill is under consideration in the House or in committee. After the Clerk of Petitions has reported that the petition is in conformity with the rules, it is deemed referred to the committee studying the bill. [54]  The promoter may challenge the locus standi, or right to appear, of any opponent by questioning whether the opponent’s interests would really be affected by the proposed legislation. The committee alone has the power to decide whether an opponent has standing and should be heard. [55]  If the opponent is heard, the promoter may cross-examine the opponent and the opponent’s witnesses, and the opponent may likewise cross-examine the promoter and the promoter’s witnesses. However, the opponents may only be heard on the grounds stated in their petition. [56]  If the committee does not feel that the grounds stated in the petition are specific enough, the committee may request that the opponent to the bill provide a more specific statement. [57]  No petitioners will be heard against the preamble unless in their petition they specifically ask to be heard against it. [58] 

When the parliamentary agent is addressing the committee, or while witnesses are under examination, the committee room is an open court, but when the committee deliberates, all the agents, witnesses and strangers are ordered to withdraw and the committee sits in camera. When the committee has come to a decision, the doors are opened and the Chair informs the parties of the committee’s decision. [59] 

Principle 4. The Financial Burden of Considering a Bill for the Benefit of Private Interest Should not be Solely by the Public Treasury

Since a private bill is for the benefit of private interests, the financial burden of considering such a bill should not be borne solely by the public treasury. It is in recognition of this principle that the Standing Orders set out fees and charges which are imposed on the promoter and which must be paid before the bill can proceed. [60] 

Any person who wishes to have a private bill enacted must deposit with the Clerk of the House, on the first day of the session, a copy of the bill in either French or English. A sum of money sufficient to cover the printing and translation costs must be paid at this time. [61]  After second reading of the private bill, but before its consideration by a committee, the applicant must pay the cost of printing the Act in the statutes and a fee of $500. [62]  If the purpose of the bill is to increase a company’s capital stock, additional charges may be levied based on a scale found in the Standing Orders and corresponding to the requested capital stock increase. [63]  Other charges, such as for an exemption from a particular Standing Order, or for reprinting a bill amended in committee, may also be levied. A statement of these charges is prepared by a House official [64]  and remitted to the promoter or parliamentary agent who subsequently deposits the fees with the Clerk of the House. [65]  In practice, however, no additional charges are imposed for most private bills even when committee meetings are held and the proceedings published. The fees paid on a private bill that has not become law may be refunded. [66] 

The House has, on occasion, waived its fees for private bills. In the early years of Confederation, fees were frequently waived, [67]  especially when no commercial interests were affected. [68]  More recently, prior to the rule changes in 1994, [69]  when petitions for private bills had to be introduced within the first six weeks of a session, the House often saw fit to waive its fees for late petitions. [70] 

Form of a Private Bill

The form of a private bill is similar to that of a public bill with the exception that it must have a preamble, containing the following formula:

Whereas (the person/corporation named) has by its petition prayed that it be enacted as hereinafter set forth and it is expedient to grant the prayer of the said petition: Therefore Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Commons, enacts, as follows: [71] 

In addition to the above wording, the preamble typically spells out in detail the reasons the person or corporation wishes to have a private bill enacted. While in some instances the preamble is short and straightforward, [72]  most preambles are lengthy and may include a history of a corporation concerned. [73] 

During the first 20 years of Confederation, private bills were drafted in a haphazard way. Members of the House of Commons and the committees to which private bills stood referred complained frequently that private bills were not uniformly framed and often contained provisions which committees had objected to in other private bills. In response to these complaints, the House adopted, in 1883, a recommendation from the Standing Committee on Railways, Canals and Telegraph Lines. It stated that any private acts of incorporation should include specific clauses from the general act relating to such bills. [74]  In 1887, after further study by a special committee, a model bill was drawn up to which all bills of incorporation had to conform. [75] 

The Standing Orders stipulate that any bill for an Act of incorporation must conform with a model bill, which can be obtained from the Clerk of the House. [76]  The objective is to ensure that all pertinent information is made available. Any provisions in the proposed bill which are not in accord with the model bill must be inserted between brackets or underlined. [77]  When a private bill amends an existing Act, the new text must be underlined and the existing text printed in the right-hand page opposite the proposed text. [78]  When a private bill proposes to repeal certain clauses or sections of an existing Act, these clauses or sections must be indicated opposite the repealing clause. [79]  A brief explanatory note giving the reasons for any clause of an unusual nature or which differs from the model bill clauses must be printed opposite the clause in the bill. [80]  Finally, if the bill is for the purpose of confirming any agreement, a verified copy of such agreement must be attached. [81] 

If the promoter of any private bill decides to present the bill first in the House of Commons, he or she should meet with a legislative counsel of the House who can assist in the drafting of the bill in accordance with the rules and practices of Parliament. [82]  The legislative counsel can also advise the petitioners on the various preliminary stages in the passage of a private bill (for example, when the notices are published in the Canada Gazette or in newspapers) and, when requested, advises the committee examining the private bill of any provisions in it which are in variance with the general law and of any unusual provisions deserving special attention.

Legislative Process for Private Bills

Private bills are subject to the same procedural requirements as public bills: they must have three separate readings and be given a detailed study by a committee. [83]  Bills originating in the Senate retain their Senate bill number during passage through the House. [84] Those private bills originating in the House are numbered consecutively beginning with C-1001. Private bills are considered during the time provided for Private Members’ Business. However, as explained earlier in this chapter, while a private bill must be sponsored by a private Member in the House, it is not considered as a private Member’s bill because it is introduced at the request of a private person outside Parliament.

Filing of the Petition

As soon as a petition for a private bill is received, the Clerk of Petitions asks the Member who will be acting as the sponsor to endorse the petition by signing the back of it. [85]  It is then filed with the Clerk of the House and recorded in that day’s Journals[86]  The petition must bear the original signatures of the persons who are requesting the legislation and who are to benefit from it. [87]  In the case of a petition from a corporation, the petition must bear the corporate seal as well as the signatures of the authorized officials of the corporation. The signatures must appear at the end of the prayer, [88] and where there are three or more petitioners, at least three of the signatures must follow the prayer on the same page. [89] 

Although the Standing Orders are not explicit as to whether a petition is required for a private bill originating in the Senate to be considered by the House, the long-established practice is for the promoter of the bill to petition each House separately. [90] With a private bill originating in the Senate, the usual practice is for the Member acting as the sponsor to file the petition with the Clerk of the House after the bill has received second reading in the Senate.

Report of the Clerk of Petitions

The day after the petition is recorded in the Journals, the Clerk of Petitions files a report with the Clerk of the House indicating whether the petition meets the requirements of the Standing Orders and the practices of the House as to form and content. If the petition does meet the requirements, it is deemed read and received [91]  and will be deemed referred to the committee which will be studying the private bill after second reading. [92]  If the petition is deemed inadmissible, it cannot be received by the House as it stands, and the private bill based thereon cannot be submitted to the House. [93]  No debate is allowed on the report of the Clerk of Petitions. [94] 

Report of the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills

Once the petition for a private bill has been received by the House, an official of the House acting as the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills examines the petition and the published notices to ensure that the requirements have been met regarding notice and the number of times it has been advertised in the Canada Gazette[95]  The Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills then files a report with the Clerk of the House on whether the requirements regarding notice have been observed by the applicant. [96]  Should the Examiner report that notice has in some way been deficient or defective or that there is some doubt in the matter, the Examiner’s report and the petition are deemed referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. [97]  If a private bill originating in the Senate is sent to the Commons without being based on a petition received in the House, the Examiner of Petitions compares the terms of the preamble of the bill with the required notices and proceeds exactly as if a petition had been received. [98] 

Committee Proceedings on the Publication of Notices

If a report of the Examiner of Petitions has been referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the Committee may call before it the Member of Parliament who presented the petition for a private bill as well as the applicant or the parliamentary agent. After hearing their explanations, the Committee decides whether or not the petition should be acted on and under what conditions. The Committee presents a report to the House regarding any deficiencies or defects found in the notices and recommends the course it deems appropriate in the circumstances. [99]  For example, the Committee may recommend that certain provisions of the Standing Orders be suspended, the grounds for which are included in the report. Should the Committee not recommend that the Standing Orders be suspended, the House cannot consider the bill based on the petition. [100]  After the Committee’s report has been tabled, the Chair of the Committee or the Member who presented the petition will usually move concurrence in the report. [101] 

First Reading of the Bill

After either the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills or the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has reported that the notice requirements have been satisfied (i.e., the applicants published a notice of intent in the Canada Gazette and provided proof of this publication), any private bill originating in the Commons may be laid upon the Table by the Clerk of the House. [102]  It is then deemed to have been read a first time, ordered to be printed, ordered for a second reading and added to the bottom of the Order of Precedence for Private Members’ Business. [103]  It is designated a votable item for the purposes of Private Members’ Business. [104] 

A private bill originating in the Senate is deemed to have been read a first time and ordered for a second reading at a subsequent sitting of the House as soon as a message is received from the Senate advising that it has passed the bill. [105]  It is also placed at the bottom of the Order of Precedence for Private Members’ Business and considered a votable item. [106] 

Second Reading and Reference to a Committee

Unlike a public bill which is founded on reasons of public policy and which the House, in agreeing to its second reading, accepts and affirms in principle, the expediency of a private bill is mainly founded upon assertions to be proven in committee. The practice is for the House to agree to the second reading of a private bill; in doing so, it affirms the principle of the private bill, subject to a committee finding that the assertions set down in the preamble are true. [107]  The amendments which can be moved at second reading are the same as those which can be moved to the motion for second reading of a public bill (i.e., a hoist amendment, a reasoned amendment and motion to discharge the order for second reading). [108] 

Committee Consideration

Although the Standing Orders require that all private bills be referred to a legislative committee after second reading, the House of Commons regularly gives unanimous consent to take the committee stage in a Committee of the Whole since most private bills originate in the Senate. [109]  However, where the House has received a petition against the bill or Members feel the bill warrants further examination, it is usually referred to a committee. [110] 

The first business of the committee is to prove the preamble of the bill, that is, to substantiate the assertions contained in the bill’s preamble and on which the rest of the bill is based. The promoters, or their parliamentary agent, present their case for the accuracy of the assertions and the appropriateness of the solution provided by the provisions of the bill. Any opponents, or their parliamentary agent, may present grounds for opposition to the bill or to some part of it. If any part of the preamble is not proven to the committee’s satisfaction, then it may strike from the bill both that part of the preamble and those provisions which pertain to the unproven assertions. The committee may also prefer to report that the preamble was found not proven and that the bill should not be proceeded with. Any such report must include the reason for any material change to the preamble of the bill or why the preamble was found not proven. [111]  Finally, the committee may amend the preamble either by striking out or modifying any assertions that may not have been substantiated to their satisfaction or by expunging any assertions the promoters may be desirous of withdrawing.

After the preamble has been considered and proven to the satisfaction of the committee, it reviews the bill clause by clause and amendments may be moved. The amendments made to a private bill by a committee ought not to be so extensive as to constitute a different bill from that which has been read a second time. [112]  All questions before the committee are decided by a majority of votes. The Chair may vote twice: once with the other members of the committee on any question, and then a second time if the first vote results in a tie. [113]  The Chair initials the clauses of the bill when they are passed, with or without amendments, and signs the bill. [114] 

Once the deliberations on the bill have been completed, the committee is required to report the bill back to the House, with or without amendments. [115] 

If a committee reports to the House that the preamble was not proven, the bill is not placed on the Order Paper unless by special order of the House. [116]  If the committee reports to the House that the bill contains provisions which were not contemplated in the notice or petition, the bill is not placed on the Order Paper until the Examiner of Petitions reports on the sufficiency or otherwise of the notice or petition to cover such provisions. [117] 

Since the bill belongs to the promoter and not to the Member in charge of ushering the bill through the House, the promoter may inform the committee at any time that he or she does not wish to proceed any further with the bill. [118]  This is reported to the House and the bill is withdrawn. [119] 

Report Stage and Third Reading

These two stages are governed by the Standing Orders relating to Private Members’ Business (see Chapter 21, “Private Members’ Business”). If a private bill is considered at the report stage, one day’s notice of all amendments to the bill must be given at this stage of the proceedings. [120]  During the third reading stage, the same amendments that may be proposed during third reading of a public bill may be moved (i.e., a hoist amendment, a reasoned amendment and an amendment to recommit the bill to committee).

Passage and Royal Assent

If a private bill which has originated in the House is passed in the same form by the Senate, the bill receives Royal Assent and becomes law. If it is amended by the Senate, a message is sent informing the House of the amendments. Between 1945 and 1978 (the last time a private bill originated in the House), no amendments were made by the Senate to private bills originating in the House. In the early years of Confederation, the Senate often amended private bills which had originated in the House. The House would typically read the amendments a second time and pass them. [121]  On occasion, if amendments were substantive as opposed to “merely verbal or unimportant”, the House would refer the amendments back to the committee which originally studied the bill. [122]  If these amendments were agreed to by the committee in a report to the House, they were considered by the House. [123]  If the amendments were read a second time and passed by the House, a message was sent informing the Senate accordingly and the bill then received Royal Assent. If the committee disagreed with the amendments, it reported accordingly to the House. The House then sent a message to this effect to the other Chamber if it concurred in the committee’s report. [124] 

If a private bill which has originated in the Senate is passed by the House in the same form, the bill receives Royal Assent and becomes law. If the House of Commons has passed the bill with amendments, a message is sent to the Senate requesting concurrence in the amendments. Subsequently, a message is received from the Senate agreeing or disagreeing with the amendments. If the amendments are concurred in by the Senate, a message is sent informing the House of its concurrence and the bill then receives Royal Assent. [125]  If the Senate does not agree with the amendments, it informs the House accordingly.

[1] 
Private bills trace their origins to the medieval English parliaments, and their peculiar procedure is explained by that history. In the early history of Parliament, special laws for the benefit of private parties and judicial decrees for the redress of private wrongs were founded on petitions and were not easily distinguishable in principle or in form. When petitions sought remedies which the common law afforded, the parties were referred to the ordinary tribunals. But when an individual or community was unable to obtain relief from the common law courts, the King was petitioned. The manner of receiving and trying petitions was judicial rather than legislative. As noted in May, 1st ed. (pp. 301-2): “Receivers and triers of petitions were appointed, and proclamation was made, inviting all people to resort to the receivers. These were ordinarily the clerks of the chancery, and afterwards the masters in chancery (and still later some of the judges), who, sitting in some public place accessible to the people, received their complaints, and transmitted them to the auditors or triers. The triers were committees of prelates, peers, and judges, who had power to call to their aid the lord chancellor, the lord treasurer, and the serjeants-at-law. By them the petitions were examined; and in some cases the petitioners were left to their remedy before the ordinary courts; in others, their petitions were transmitted to the judges on circuit; and if the common law offered no redress, their case was submitted to the High Court of Parliament… . In the reign of Henry IV, petitions began to be addressed, in considerable numbers, to the House of Commons. The courts of equity had, in the meantime relieved Parliament of much of its remedial jurisdiction; and petitions were now more in the nature of petitions for private bills, than for equitable remedies for private wrongs. Of this character were many of the earliest petitions; and the orders of Parliament upon them can only be regarded as special statutes, of private or local application. As the limits of judicature and legislation became defined, the petitions applied more distinctly for legislative remedies, and were preferred to Parliament through the commons; but the function of Parliament, in passing private bills, have always retained the mixed judicial and legislative character of ancient times.”
[2] 
See Speaker Lamoureux’s ruling, Journals, February 22, 1971, p. 351.
[3] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 558-9. See Todd’s Private Bill Practice, 3rd ed., Ottawa: John Durie & Son, 1868, pp. 1-2: “In passing Private Bills, while Parliament still exercises its legislative functions, its proceedings also partake also [sic] of a judicial character; the parties interested in such bills appear as suitors, while those who apprehend injury are admitted as adverse parties to the suit. Much of the formality of a Court of Justice is maintained; conditions are required to be observed and their observance proved by the promoters of a bill, and if they abandon it and no other parties take it up, the bill is dropped, however sensible the House may be of its value.”
[4] 
This was done as a deliberate effort to direct private legislation to the Senate. If the bill originates in the Senate, the promoter only has to pay a fee of $200 (Senate Rule 110) instead of a fee of $500 in the House (Standing Order 134(2)). This difference in fees was first established in 1934 when the Standing Orders of the House were changed to “secure the freedom of this house from the initial consideration of large numbers of private bills by increasing the business that may be presented to the second chamber in the way of private legislation” (see Debates, June 30, 1934, pp. 4509-10). This has led to most private bills being introduced in the Senate. Since 1970, only six private bills have originated in the House, the last in 1978: Bill C-164, An Act to incorporate Unity Bank of Canada, on March 29, 1972 (Journals, p. 232); Bill C-264, An Act respecting the Eastern Canada Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, on April 3, 1974 (Journals, p. 94); Bill C-1001, An Act to provide an exception from the general law relating to marriage in the case of Richard Fritz and Marianne Strass, on July 30, 1975 (Journals, p. 750); Bill C-1002, An Act to incorporate the Northland Bank, on December 20, 1975 (Journals, p. 977); Bill C-1001, An Act to incorporate the Continental Bank of Canada, on July 14, 1977 (Journals, p. 1371); and Bill C-1001, An Act respecting Bell Canada, on April 12, 1978 (Journals, p. 638).
[5] 
For example, during the Third Session of the Thirty-Fourth Parliament (May 1991 to September 1993), nine private bills were considered for a total of 1 hour and 54 minutes; during the First Session of the Thirty-Fifth Parliament (January 1994 to February 1996), the House considered three private bills for a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes. See Statistics Respecting House Business prepared by the Journals Branch of the House of Commons.
[6] 
See, for example, An Act to amend the Act of incorporation of the Grand Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the Dominion of Canada, S.C. 1980-81-82-83, c. 186; An Act to incorporate Green Shield Canada, S.C. 1992, c. 56; An Act to amend An Act to incorporate the Royal Society of Canada, S.C. 1992, c. 58; An Act to change the name of The Canadian Medical Association, S.C. 1993, c. 48; An Act to incorporate the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations, S.C., 1994, c. 49.
[7] 
See, for example, An Act to amend and repeal The Alliance Nationale Consolidated Act, 1945, S.C. 1986, c. 64; An Act to revive E.G. Klein Limited and to provide for its continuance under the Canada Business Corporation Act, S.C. 1980-81-82-83, c. 185; An Act to revive Yellowknife Electric Limited and to provide for its continuance under the Canada Business Corporation Act, S.C. 1987, c. 56.
[8] 
S.C. 1963, c. 10. This statute authorized the Senate alone to dissolve or annul marriages by resolution. Prior to the enactment of this Act, the innocent party to divorce in either Newfoundland or Quebec (their provincial courts were not empowered to hear divorce cases) would petition Parliament for a private bill to dissolve the marriage. The petition would allege a matrimonial offense and pray for “relief”. Most petitions were first considered in the Senate before its Committee on Divorce (where the fees for a private bill were less than the fees imposed in the House of Commons). The majority of divorce bills were uncontested and passed both Houses without question. However, if any Member questioned the reasons for the divorce or if the participants in the cases wished to be heard, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Private Bills had the authority to rehear the case. Petitioner and respondent, both represented by counsel, would appear before the committee, which would function as a court of law. The House dealt with the bill when a report was received from the committee. See Dawson, p. 243. In 1968, the Divorce Act (S.C. 1967-68, c. 24) set up divorce courts in these two provinces, and the Senate was no longer empowered to dissolve or annul marriages.
[9] 
S.C. 1990, c. 46.
[10] 
S.C. 1974-75-76, c. 33.
[11] 
S.C. 1964-65, c. 52.
[12] 
S.C. 1953-54, c. 48, and S.C. 1966-67, c. 87.
[13] 
May, 22nd ed., p. 857.
[14] 
See, for example, Green Shields Canada Act, S.C. 1992, c. 56.
[15] 
See, for example, An Act respecting the acquisition, operation and disposal of the Windsor–Detroit Tunnel by the City of Windsor, S.C. 1987, c. 55.
[16] 
See, for example, An Act to provide an exception from the public general law relating to marriage in the case of Gerald Harvey Fudge and Audrey Marie Saunders, S.C. 1984, c. 52.
[17] 
See, for example, Bill S-25, An Act respecting Hudson’s Bay Company (Journals, June 17, 1970, p. 1026; Debates, October 5, 1970, pp. 8797-8800), and Bill C-259, An Act to extend the term of a patent relating to certain food additives (Journals, June 17, 1987, p. 1184; Debates, June 18, 1987, pp. 7346-7). Unlike British parliamentary practice which has provisions for a cross-category of bills having both public and private attributes, these so-termed hybrid bills do not exist in Canadian parliamentary practice. Hybrid bills may be defined as public bills which affect a particular private interest in a manner different from the private interest of other persons or bodies of the same category or class (May, 22nd ed., p. 554). As Speaker Lamoureux stated in a 1971 ruling, “We have, according to our standing orders and our long established practice, just two kinds of bills—private bills and public bills”. See Journals, February 22, 1971, p. 351; Debates, pp. 3617-29.
[18] 
See rulings in Journals, February 22, 1971, p. 352; Debates, April 15, 1985, pp. 3699-700. See also Debates, February 2, 1911, cols. 2883-4, where the Speaker ruled that a bill which a Member wished to introduce as a public bill was in fact a private bill and, as such, the Member was instructed that the rules respecting private bills had to be followed. Almost 65 years later, the Speaker made a similar ruling when a private Member attempted to introduce a bill entitled An Act for the parole of Dr. Henry Morgentaler as a public bill(see Journals, October 23, 1975, pp. 795-6).
[19] 
See May, 22nd ed., p. 853. See also Journals, February 22, 1971, p. 352.
[20] 
Journals, February 22, 1971, p. 351.
[21] 
See Edward P. Hartney, Manual of Private Bill Practice of the Parliament of Canada, Ottawa: Maclean, Roger & Co., 1882, p. 2.
[22] 
In the First Parliament, the House of Commons adopted the rules and practice in force in the Province of Canada with regard to private bills. (There had been no clearly defined practice for private bills in the legislatures of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.) See Todd, 3rd ed., p. iii.
[23] 
According to a principle outlined before a special committee of the British House of Commons in 1832, a person should come before Parliament as a suitor only if there was no other way of obtaining some redress for a grievance. This principle was subsequently observed by the Canadian Parliament. See Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 336. See also Chapter 22, “Public Petitions”.
[24] 
A petition may only be presented through a Senator or a Member of the House of Commons. See Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 256. Even if a private bill is to originate in the Senate, the practice has been that individuals interested in obtaining a private bill also petition the House of Commons. The person or corporation seeking passage of a private bill is referred to as the applicant, the petitioner or the promoter of the bill. In one exceptional case in 1989, a Member of the House was the applicant of a private bill for the incorporation of a national passenger rail service and another Member the sponsor. Given that the petition for the bill was not filed within the specified time limit then in force, the two Members were invited to appear before the Standing Committee on Elections, Privileges, Procedure and Private Members’ Business. At that meeting, a letter was read into the record from the sponsor indicating that the applicant was no longer interested in proceeding with the bill (see Journals, September 29, 1989, p. 555; October 2, 1989, p. 562; October 5, 1989, p. 579; Standing Committee on Elections, Privileges, Procedure and Private Members’ Business, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, October 24, 1989, Issue No. 9, pp. 3-5).
[25] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 581.
[26] 
Standing Orders 36 and 131.
[27] 
Standing Order 131(3). On occasion, the name of the sponsor of a private bill has been changed by unanimous consent (see, for example, Journals, September 30, 1988, p. 3652).
[28] 
Standing Order 131(2).
[29] 
Standing Order 131(1).
[30] 
Standing Order 134(1).
[31] 
Standing Order 136(1). Standing Order 136(2) to (5) sets out the rules for drafting a private bill. (See section on “Form of a Private Bill”.) The first mention in the printed text of the Standing Orders of the term “Examiner” with regard to private bill procedure occurred in 1890 and resulted from amendments to the Standing Orders adopted in June 1887 (Journals, June 17, 1887, pp. 313-4; June 23, 1887, p. 412). The 1890 version of the Standing Orders stated that the Examiner would report to the Comittee on Standing Orders that he had examined the bill and “noted variations from the provisions contained in the Model Bill” before its consideration by the Committee. As well, the Examiner would revise and certify all private bills passed by the Committee and the reports thereon before they are presented to the House “to ensure uniformity”. See Rules, Orders and Forms of Proceeding of the House of Commons of Canada, 1890, Rule No. 59A.
[32] 
See, for example, Journals, December 18, 1963, p. 697. See also Standing Committee on Elections, Privileges, Procedure and Private Members’ Business,Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, October 24, 1989, Issue No. 9, pp. 4-5, where the sponsor of a private bill informed the committee considering the promoter’s late petition that the promoter did not wish to proceed with his private bill.
[33] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 581. Neither Members nor Officers of the House are allowed to transact private business before the House for profit (Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 582).
[34] 
Standing Order 146(1).
[35] 
Standing Order 146(3). Prior to 1927, parliamentary agents were not required to pay a sessional fee of $25. In 1927, the Special Committee appointed to revise the rules of the House presented a report. See Journals, March 15, 1927, pp. 232-84. Included in this report, which was adopted by the House, was the recommendation that a parliamentary agent pay a fee of $25 for any session in which he had some business before the House. See Journals, March 22, 1927, pp. 316-68, in particular pp. 366-7; Debates, pp. 1434-5. See also Standing Orders of the House of Commons, 1927, Standing Order 119(3).
[36] 
Standing Order 146(4).
[37]
The Canada Gazette is a periodical publication of the Government.
[38] 
The notice, which appears in Part 1 of the Canada Gazette, is a reprint of Standing Order 130. The notice also advises that further information may be obtained from the Private Members’ Business Office at the House of Commons. See, for example, Canada Gazette, Part 1, September 27, 1997, pp. 3097-8.
[39] 
Standing Order 129. See, for example, Canada Gazette, Part 1, April 25, 1998, p. 920. Prior to March 23, 1990, when the present Standing Order was adopted (see Journals, March 23, 1990, p. 1397), the Clerk would have the Standing Orders relating to Private Bills published weekly in the Canada Gazette (see, for example, Canada Gazette, Part 1, January 7, 1989, pp. 18-26). After the first six weeks of a session, the notice would also indicate when the time limit for filing petitions had expired. See, for example, Canada Gazette, Part 1, January 6, 1990, pp. 5-13.
[40] 
Standing Order 130(1), (3). When an application for a private bill originates in Quebec or Manitoba, the notice must be published in English in an English-language newspaper and in French in a French-language newspaper and in both languages in the Canada Gazette. Proof that the notice was duly published is established by statutory declaration (an affidavit) sent to the Clerk of the House.
[41] 
Standing Order 130(1).
[42] 
Standing Order 130(2).
[43] 
Standing Order 130(3). On one occasion, when a number of private bills failed to pass because of the dissolution of Parliament, the applicants of the bills attempted to have the same bills considered in the House the following Parliament without first publishing the required notices of intention. This matter was referred to the Select Standing Committee on Standing Orders, which recommended in its First Report that the rules regarding notice be suspended. The Report was subsequently adopted by the House. See Journals, February 9, 1927; pp. 88-9; February 18, 1927, pp. 134-5.
[44] 
Standing Order 141(2). The provisions of this Standing Order have been suspended on occasion (see, for example, Journals, March 16, 1978, p. 499 (bill originating in the House); Journals, July 17, 1980, p. 396 (bill originating in the Senate)).
[45] 
Standing Order 145.
[46] 
Standing Order 142.
[47] 
Standing Order 144.
[48] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 599.
[49] 
Beauchesne, 6th ed., p. 287.
[50] 
Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 336.
[51] 
Prior to Confederation, committees had no power to examine witnesses under oath, but in 1867-68, an Act was passed empowering the committee on any private bill to examine witnesses upon oath to be administered by the Chair or any member of such committee (Todd, 3rd ed., p. 68). See An Act to provide for Oaths to Witnesses being administered in certain cases for the purposes of either House of Parliament, S.C. 1867-68, c. 24, ss. 2-3.
[52] 
Beauchesne, 4th ed., pp. 355-6.
[53] 
Beauchesne, 4th ed., pp. 350, 356.
[54] 
Standing Order 141(1). See, for example, Journals, May 29, 1990, p. 1776; May 30, 1990, p. 1784.
[55] 
Petitioners have no locus standi before a committee when their property or interests are not directly affected by the bill, or when, for other reasons, they are not entitled to oppose it (Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 608).
[56] 
For procedures relative to committee proceedings when a petition against a private bill has been received by a legislative committee, see Legislative Committee on Bill S-10, An Act respecting the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, May 22, 1990 and May 30, 1990, Issue No. 1, p. 6.
[57] 
Todd, 3rd ed., p. 73.
[58] 
Todd, 3rd ed., p. 73; Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 606.
[59] 
Todd, 3rd ed., p. 79. For a recent example of a committee exercising this quasi-judicial function, see Legislative Committee on Bill S-10,An Act respecting the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, May 22, 1990 and May 30, 1990, Issue No. 1, pp. 5-6, 51-3.
[60] 
See Standing Order 134. Section 15 of the Publication of Statutes Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. S-21) also provides for the promoter to pay the charges set by the House in which the bill originates. This principle was entrenched in Rule No. 58 of the Rules of the House of Commons of Canada, 1868: “The expenses and costs attending on Private Bills giving an exclusive privilege, or for any object of profit, or private, corporate, or individual advantage; or for amending, extending, or enlarging any former Acts, in such manner as to confer additional powers, ought not to fall on the public …”
[61] 
Standing Order 134(1).
[62] 
Standing Order 134(2).
[63] 
Standing Order 134(3)-(8). These fees apply also to bills originating in the Senate. The rules on the matter of fees refer to a time when private bills were the usual way for companies to become incorporated or to amend their charters. Such parliamentary procedure is now almost totally superseded by administrative procedure under public general acts such as the Canadian Business Corporations Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-44).
[64] 
This official is referred to as the Chief Clerk of Private Bills and also acts as the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills and the Examiner of Private Bills. In 1862, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada appointed the Chief Clerk of the Private Bills Office as its Examiner of Standing Orders, assigning to him the responsibility of examining the facts with regard to notice given on each petition. This practice continued following Confederation in the new Parliament. See Todd, 3rd ed., p. 36.
[65] 
Standing Order 134(9). The House has allowed those fees paid in a previous session (when the bill was introduced but had not passed because of a prorogation) to apply to a bill in the following session (see, for example, Journals, October 20, 1967, p. 401).
[66] 
Journals, June 8, 1892, p. 354; July 2, 1892, p. 417; May 21, 1976, p. 1307; May 26, 1976, p. 1313. See also Speaker’s ruling, Journals, December 9, 1974, pp. 179-81.
[67] 
Bourinot, 2nd ed., p. 730.
[68] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 604.
[69] 
Standing Order 132 was deleted on June 10, 1994. See Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence (Twenty-Seventh Report), June 9, 1994, Issue No. 16, p. 8. See also Journals, June 8, 1994, p. 545; June 10, 1994, p. 563.
[70] 
See, for example, Journals, March 19, 1990, pp. 1363-4.
[71] 
Beauchesne, 6th ed., p. 287.
[72] 
See, for example, An Act respecting the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, S.C. 1990, c. 52; An Act to change the name of The Canadian Medical Association, S.C. 1993, c. 48.
[73] 
See, for example, An Act to amalgamate the Alberta corporation known as the Missionary Church with the Canada corporation known as the Evangelical Missionary Church, Canada West District, S.C. 1995, c. 50; An Act to dissolve the Nipissing and James Bay Railway Company, S.C. 1996, c. 38.
[74] 
Debates, April 20, 1883, pp. 741-3. Departures from the general form were to be specially noted, and any bill which deviated from this rule would be returned to the promoters (see Dawson, p. 246).
[75] 
Debates, June 18, 1887, pp. 1115-6. Unusual provisions in the proposed bills were to be marked and were to be clearly specified in the notice of application (Dawson, p. 246). Model bills were prepared for the incorporation of banks, trust companies, loan companies, insurance companies and railways.
[76] 
Standing Order 136(2).
[77] 
Standing Order 136(2).
[78] 
Standing Order 136(3).
[79] 
Standing Order 136(4).
[80] 
Standing Order 136(5).
[81] 
Standing Order 138.
[82] 
Although in the past a private bill might have been drafted by the promoter’s counsel who would then also act as the parliamentary agent, in today’s practice a private bill is usually drafted with the assistance of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the Senate because most, if not all, private bills are now introduced in that Chamber. If a bill is to originate in the House of Commons however, pursuant to Standing Order 134(1), a copy of the bill is to be deposited with the Clerk of the House no later than the first day of the session. The bill is then examined by a House official to ensure it satisfies the specific requirements as to form (Standing Order 136(1)).
[83] 
Standing Order 147. In current practice (because most, if not all, private bills originate in the Senate), after the petition and the bill have been received by the House, the House typically proceeds through all stages in the same sitting by unanimous consent. See, for example, Journals, March 13, 1997, p. 1281; April 14, 1997, p. 1383; December 9, 1998, p. 1430, March 18, 1999, pp. 1636-7. On one occasion, a petition for a private bill originating in the Senate was filed by a Member, deemed filed within the required time limit and reported on by the Examiner of Petitions; and the bill was read a second time, referred to a Committee of the Whole, reported without amendment, concurred in at the report stage, read a third time and passed, all on the same day. See Journals, June 15, 1993, pp. 3309, 3314.
[84]
Senate bill numbers commence with the letter “S”. For further information, see Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”.
[85] 
Standing Order 131(3). Unlike a public petition, a private bill petition is not certified by the Clerk of Petitions before being presented.
[86] 
See, for example, Journals, December 1, 1992, p. 2267; June 15, 1993, p. 3314; May 5, 1999, p. 1831.
[87] 
Unlike public petitions, petitioners for a private bill are not required to obtain 25 signatures (see Speaker’s ruling, Debates, December 1, 1986, p. 1647). See also Chapter 22, “Public Petitions”.
[88]
The prayer is that part of a petition in which the petitioners present their request for some action. The prayer must be clear, proper and respectful, and the action requested must be within the jurisdiction of Parliament.
[89] 
Standing Order 131(4).
[90]
Between 1920 and 1928, a number of examples can be found in the Journals where a private bill originating in the Senate passed through the House of Commons without a petition being presented in the House of Commons; but since 1928, it has been the practice for a petition to be presented in both Houses.
[91] 
Standing Order 131(5).
[92] 
Standing Order 141(1).
[93] 
Prior to June 1994, petitions had to be filed within the first six weeks of the session. If they were not filed within this period, the Clerk of Petitions would report that the petition did not meet the requirements in respect to the filing of petitions (see, for example, Journals, November 27, 1991, p. 809; April 1, 1992, p. 1250). A motion would then be adopted to refer the petition and the report to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The Committee would recommend the suspension of the Standing Order. If the Committee’s report was concurred in by the House, the petition would be received (Standing Order 140) (see, for example, Journals, February 14, 1990, p. 1219; March 19, 1990, pp. 1363-4). On occasion, and throughout most of the Third Session of the Thirty-Fourth Parliament (1991-93), unanimous consent would be given to deem that a petition for a private bill had been presented within the required time frame (see, for example, Journals, December 4, 1991, p. 846). Since Standing Order 132 concerning the time requirement for the filing of petitions was removed from the Standing Orders in June 1994 (Journals, June 10, 1994, p. 563), no petition has been deemed inadmissible. The Committee occasionally recommended that charges be levied for the suspension or modification of the Standing Orders (Standing Order 134(3)(a)) (see, for example, Journals, July 7, 1981, pp. 2790-1).
[94] 
Standing Order 131(6).
[95] 
The position of Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills first appeared in the text of the written Standing Orders in 1906. In July of that year, the Special Committee to Revise the Rules of the House recommended that such a position be established, the purpose of which would be to consider whether petitions for private bills met the notice requirements and so report to the House. This employee relieved the Committee on Standing Orders of its preliminary responsibility to report to the House on notice requirements. See Journals, July 10, 1906, pp. 579-80. In March 1927, a number of amendments were made to the Standing Orders concerning private bills, one of which declared that the Chief Clerk of Private Bills would be the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills (Journals, March 22, 1927, pp. 352-3).
[96] 
Standing Order 133(2). See, for example, Journals, June 11, 1992, p. 1696; March 18, 1997, p. 1310. It has happened that the Clerk of Petitions and the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills have reported the same day (see, for example, Journals, June 21, 1994, pp. 651-2; December 13, 1995, p. 2257; April 27, 1999, p. 1775). In case of a railway company, or of a canal company, or for extension of the line of any existing or authorized railway or canal, or for the construction of branches thereto, the Examiner of Petitions can not consider the petition unless a map or plan is also filed (Standing Order 133(4)). If the map or plan is not filed, the Examiner of Petitions will not report, and the matter would not be further proceeded with.
[97] 
Standing Order 133(2). Since 1960, there have been no cases of a report of the Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills being referred to a committee for consideration because of deficiencies in the notice requirements.
[98] 
Standing Order 133(3). See also Todd, 3rd ed., p. 118. The Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills examines and reports on the bill after first reading and before the committee stage.
[99] 
Standing Orders 133(2) and 140. If the Committee finds, for example, that the persons affected by the proposed bill had sufficient knowledge of the applicant’s intentions or that the applicant alone would be affected, then the Committee may even recommend that the notice requirement be suspended completely. If, when the Committee compares the notice and the petition, it finds that the terms of the notice do not correspond to those of the petition or that the notice fails to indicate clearly the object of the petition, the Committee must conclude that the bill is inadmissible, in whole or in part, and may recommend that the matter not be proceeded with or that certain provisions not included in the notice be struck from the bill (see Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 593-4; Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 344).
[100] 
If the Committee does not recommend that a particular provision of the Standing Orders be suspended, Standing Order 140 implies that no motion for suspension of that provision can be made in the House.
[101] 
Should the Committee receive new information after its report has been tabled, it may present a new report on the matter. For example, new evidence may be received showing that the other interested persons were sufficiently informed or that amended notices or additional notices have since appeared (Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 595; Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 349).
[102] 
Standing Order 135(1). In actual practice, an entry of the tabling is recorded in the Journals for that day (see, for example, Journals, July 9, 1975, p. 691; November 5, 1975, p. 824; November 1, 1976, p. 89; October 21, 1977, p. 24). This procedure differs from that for public bills which are introduced during Routine Proceedings either under the rubric “Introduction of Government Bills” or under the rubric “Introduction of Private Members’ Bills”. See Chapter 10, “The Daily Program”, and Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”, for additional information.
[103] 
Standing Orders 89 and 135(1). These bills are not subject to the random draw procedure.
[104] 
Standing Order 92(3).
[105] 
Standing Order 135(2). See, for example, Journals, June 8, 1994, p. 547; May 5, 1999, p. 1812.
[106] 
Standing Order 92(3).
[107] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 599. The House may not debate any printed evidence taken by a Senate committee during the second reading stage (see Speaker’s ruling, Journals, December 4, 1962, pp. 354-5).
[108] 
See Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”, for detailed information on these kinds of amendments. If second reading is delayed three or six months (adoption of the hoist amendment), or if the bill is rejected, no new bill with the same intent may be introduced during the same session (Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 353). An amendment interjecting a matter of public policy into a private bill has been ruled out of order (see Speaker’s ruling, Debates, March 21, 1927, p. 1419). Similarly, an amendment expanding the scope of a private bill was also ruled out of order. In 1948, a Member moved that a private bill (An Act respecting The Bell Telephone Company of Canada) not be read a second time but “that it be resolved that in the opinion of this House no company should ask Parliament for an increase in authorized capital in excess of one hundred per cent”. The Deputy Speaker ruled the amendment out of order as it “would affect all bills which will hereafter be introduced into the house…” See Debates, April 30, 1948, pp. 3502-3.
[109] 
Standing Order 141(1). In the first six years of Confederation, the House referred all private bills to the Standing Committee on Private Bills or to the Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce or the Standing Committee on Railways, Canals and Telegraph Lines (Todd, 3rd ed., p. 64). This rule was changed in 1873, when the House agreed that private bills should be sent to standing committees after second reading to allow time for the bills to be printed (Dawson, p. 247). From 1876 to 1965, all private bills were referred to the Standing Committee on Private Bills or to the Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce, the Standing Committee on Railways, Canals and Telegraph Lines or to the Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Bills. From 1965 to 1986, private bills were referred after second reading to the Standing Committee on Finance, Trade and Economic Affairs, the Standing Committee on Transportation and Communications or to the Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Private Bills. In 1986, the Standing Order was amended to refer all private bills to legislative committees after second reading (Journals, February 13, 1986, pp. 1709-10). However, since the beginning of the Thirty-Fifth Parliament (1994-97), all private bills have been considered in Committees of the Whole. See, for example, Journals, June 14, 1994, p. 584; June 22, 1994, p. 660; September 17, 1996, p. 633; April 14, 1997, p. 1383. See also Debates, May 10, 1966, pp. 4958-9; March 16, 1967, p. 14085, for comments on the consideration of private bills in a Committee of the Whole.
[110] 
For examples of committees examining private bills referred to them, see Legislative Committee on Bill S-9, An Act to amalgamate the two Corporations known, respectively, as “The Governing Council of the Salvation Army, Canada East” and “The Governing Council of the Salvation Army, Canada West” and to make necessary provisions regarding the charter of the amalgamated corporation, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, February 15, 1990, Issue No. 1; Legislative Committee on Bill S-10, An Act respecting the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, May 22, 1990, and May 30, 1990, Issue No. 1.
[111] 
Standing Order 141(6). See Journals, April 7, 1927, p. 476; July 15, 1931, p. 539; August 9, 1958, p. 397; July 17, 1963, p. 221. See also Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 361, for a list of reasons why private bills have been reported back without their preambles having been proven.
[112] 
Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 611-2.
[113] 
Standing Order 141(3). See Legislative Committee on Bill S-10, An Act respecting the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, May 22, 1990, and May 30, 1990, Issue No. 1, p. 19, in regard to the Chairman’s decision to cast a vote only in the event of a tie.
[114] 
Standing Order 141(7).
[115] 
Standing Order 141(5). For examples of private bills being reported back to the House from committee with amendments, see Journals, February 17, 1976, p. 1031 (Bill S-30, An Act to incorporate Continental Bank of Canada); April 6, 1978, p. 578 (Bill C-1001, An Act respecting Bell Canada). While Standing Orders 141(7) and 141(8) describe the procedures to be followed in regard to the reprint of a private bill, the procedures for clause-by-clause consideration in committee of a private bill and the referral back to the House and reprint of a private bill are the same today as those procedures established for the consideration of a public bill in committee. See Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”, and Chapter 20, “Committees”.
[116] 
Standing Order 141(6). See Journals, July 16, 1931, p. 552; August 11, 1958, p. 401; July 18, 1963, pp. 225-6. After the bill is reported back to the House with its preamble unproven and if the House wishes to have the bill reconsidered in committee, the motion to refer the bill back to committee is considered during Private Members’ Business.
[117] 
Standing Order 141(4). See Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 612.
[118] 
See, for example, Journals, December 18, 1963, p. 697.
[119] 
In 1968, prior to the House resolving into a Committee of the Whole to consider a private bill, the sponsor of the bill informed the House that the promoters were not in favour of having their bill amended. The sponsor then asked that the order for consideration of the bill in Committee of the Whole be discharged and the bill be withdrawn from the Order Paper. The motion was adopted. See Debates, March 14, 1968, p. 7641; Journals, p. 774. Pursuant to Standing Order 139, if the promoters do not appear before the committee to proceed with the bill on two separate occasions, the committee is to report the bill back with a recommendation that it be withdrawn. This Standing Order stems from the days when committees considered numerous private bills. If the order was called in committee for the consideration of a private bill and the promoters did not appear, the committee would proceed to the next private bill on its agenda. If the promoters did not appear the second time their private bill was scheduled for consideration, the order would be discharged.
[120] 
Standing Order 142. See Journals, February 26, 1976, p. 1070, where the Speaker ruled that report stage is part of the legislative process for the passage of a private bill. For an example of a private bill being amended at report stage, see Journals, October 28, 1971, p. 896; March 16, 1972, p. 195.
[121] 
See, for example, Journals, March 15, 1893, p. 161; March 17, 1893, p. 170.
[122] 
Standing Order 143.
[123] 
See, for example, Journals, May 4, 1886, p. 215; May 5, 1886, p. 228; May 14, 1886, p. 267; May 17, 1886, p. 275.
[124] 
See, for example, Journals, April 15, 1889, pp. 259-61.
[125] 
See, for example, Journals, March 13, 1990, p. 1338; March 29, 1990, pp. 1435-6; June 6, 1990, p. 1838; June 12, 1990, pp. 1872-3.

Please note —

As the rules and practices of the House of Commons are subject to change, users should remember that this edition of Procedure and Practice was published in January 2000. Standing Order changes adopted since then, as well as other changes in practice, are not reflected in the text. The Appendices to the book, however, have been updated and now include information up to the end of the 38th Parliament in November 2005.

To confirm current rules and practice, please consult the latest version of the Standing Orders on the Parliament of Canada Web site.

For further information about the procedures of the House of Commons, please contact the Table Research Branch at (613) 996-3611 or by e-mail at trbdrb@parl.gc.ca.