House of Commons

Layout of the House of Commons

How does a Bill Become a Law

The legislative process

“How does a bill become law?”

1. Passage through first house (sometimes the Senate, usually the House of Commons)

2. Passage through the second house (usually the Senate, sometimes the House of Commons)

3. Royal Assent given by the Governor General (the bill is made law on the advice and with the consent of both houses)

Passage through a house:

• First reading (the bill proposing a law is received and circulated)

• Second reading (the principle of the bill is debated:

does the bill represent good policy?)

• Committee stage:

– members of the public appear as witnesses to comment

– committee members study the bill in detail, clause-by-clause

– the committee adopts a report, with or without amendments

• Report stage (the committee report is considered by the whole house)

• Third reading (final approval of the bill)

• The bill is either re-sent to the other house or is set aside for Royal Assent

Defeating bills

Canada's Constitution gives both houses of Parliament the power to defeat proposed legislation sent to it by the other house. This is called the veto power. While the Senate does not oppose the will of the Commons very often, senators have rejected bills. Senators have considered this possibility on occasions when they felt the government did not have an electoral mandate for a measure opposed by the public, when the bill was obviously outside the constitutional authority of Parliament, or under other extraordinary circumstances.

The Senate can defeat government bills without the dramatic political fallout that would occur if the House of Commons did the same thing. If the House of Commons defeats a major piece of legislation, the government usually resigns and an election is called. If a bill is defeated in the Senate, the government can go back to the drawing board and submit a new bill.

In 1998, after extensive hearings and consultation with a broad range of witnesses, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee opposed the enactment of Bill C-220. The bill, although not a government bill, which was passed by the House of Commons, would have provided the government with the power to censor publications written by persons convicted of crimes where the publication in question was based substantially on the crime for which the conviction was entered. Senators on the Committee believed that the bill was a direct violation of section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees freedom of expression. The Senate agreed with the Committee's recommendation, and the bill was rejected.

Taken from http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Senate/Today/laws-e.html