The Legislative Process

Introduction

Examination and enactment of legislation are arguably the primary tasks of Parliament. A bill must pass through a number of very specific stages in the House of Commons and the Senate before it is adopted and presented to the Governor General for royal assent. These stages make up the legislative process.

Since Confederation, the rules of both Houses have contained detailed provisions governing the passage of public and private bills. A number of the rules that were in effect at Confederation remain so today. For example, in the case of the House of Commons, the Standing Orders prohibit the introduction of bills in blank or imperfect form, stipulate that all bills be subject to three separate readings, on different days, and require that bills be printed in both official languages and be certified by the Clerk of the House after each reading.

Over the years, the rules governing the legislative process have been amended on many occasions in order to better facilitate the consideration of public bills, to expand the roles of committees and to encourage greater participation by members.

During the 42nd Parliament, one of the Standing Orders that apply specifically to the legislative process was amended. New Standing Order 69.1 applies specifically to omnibus government bills, which, by definition, seek to repeal, amend or enact more than one act, and where there is not a common element connecting the various provisions or where unrelated matters are linked. Under new Standing Order 69.1, the Speaker now has the power to divide the questions on the motion for second reading and reference to a committee and the motion for third reading and passage of the bill. The Speaker also now has the power to combine clauses of the bill thematically. There is now a single debate at each stage, and members can vote on each of the different parts of the bill separately. This new standing order does not apply if the bill has as its main purpose the implementation of a budget and contains only provisions that were announced in the budget presentation or in the documents tabled during the budget presentation.

A number of decisions in this chapter help clarify the scope and effect of new Standing Order 69.1. For example, in his November 7, 2017, ruling, Speaker Regan explained how he intended to use his new powers under the Standing Orders by presenting examples of how former speakers divided motions. The Speaker stated that the goal was to determine whether the matters were so unrelated as to warrant a separate vote. In this case, he examined Bill C-56, an act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Abolition of Early Parole Act. The Speaker ruled that the two parts of this bill were indeed two distinct measures but also that they ultimately related to the same act. Furthermore, he noted that the bill as a whole dealt with the treatment of inmates. Therefore, he ruled that these parts should not be subject to two separate divisions.

On October 24, 2018, Speaker Regan delivered a major ruling on the legislative process for the “parent act” rule, which prohibits an amendment to a bill from amending an act or a section not already amended by that bill. In his examination of Bill C-76, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other acts and to make certain consequential amendments, the Speaker stressed that this rule is based on relevance. Most times, an amendment to amend a section of an existing statute that is not already amended by a bill is tantamount to addressing another question that is irrelevant and therefore inadmissible. However, the Speaker explained that these amendments can be relevant, for example, when they are consequential to amendments that are otherwise admissible or when the amendments are clearly relevant to the bill.

This chapter contains 14 decisions, including those mentioned above, which are grouped here by the various stages in the legislative process. They show that Speaker Regan played an important role in upholding and explaining relevant practices and new rules while also responding to new and unforeseen circumstances.