Senate.

• Author: Moss-Norburry, Vanessa
• Position: Legislative Reports

The Passing of the Speaker of the Senate

On April 23, 2015, Pierre Claude Nolin, Speaker of the Senate, lost his battle with cancer at the age of 64. He was appointed to the Senate in 1993 on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and represented the senatorial district of De Salaberry, Quebec. A lawyer by trade, Senator Nolin was an active member of several Senate committees, including the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs; the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence; the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations; the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources; the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament and the Special Senate Committee on Anti-terrorism. From 2000 to 2002, he chaired the Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs and, most recently, he was the Chair of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. He was unanimously elected as Speaker pro tempore, a role he served in from November 2013 to November 2014 when he was named Speaker of the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Harper. Speaker Nolin lay in repose in the Senate Chamber on April 28 and his funeral took place in Montreal at Notre-Dame Basilica on April 30.

Legislation

The Senate reconvened after the winter adjournment on January 27 and during the late winter period of sittings, 10 government bills, three Senate Public Bills and one Commons Public bill received Royal Assent. Among the government bills was Bill C-32, An Act to enact the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and to amend certain Acts. This bill creates a federal bill of rights for victims of crime; amends the Criminal Code to enhance the rights of victims to information and protection and provide victims with increased opportunities for participation in the criminal trial and sentencing processes; creates a general rule of competency and compellability with respect to the testimony of the accused's spouse in criminal proceedings under the Canada Evidence Act; and amends the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to increase victims' access to information about the offender who harmed them.

Bill C-27, the Veterans Hiring Act, amended the Public Service Employment Act to grant priority for appointment in the federal public service to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are released...