D. Bills: Checking for Amendments (Step 3)
Author | Ted Tjaden |
Profession | National Director of Knowledge Management McMillan LLP |
Pages | 74-79 |
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Once you have identified the correct jurisdiction (Step 1) and then identified and read the relevant statute (Step 2), it is essential in Step 3 to verify that the section in question has not been amended or repealed. There are two basic methods to note up statutory provisions: (i) print methods (rarely used nowadays), and (ii) online methods. Before these methods are discussed, it is important to understand the legislative process and the way in which legislation is amended or repealed.
Figure 3.2
Historical note from s. 1 of the Statutes Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 483, showing that the wording of s. 1 came verbatim from s. 1 of the Statutes Act, R.S.O. 1970, c. 446, but had its wording changed in 1973 by s. 4(3) of S.O. 1973, c.2
[SEE ATTACHED PDF]
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There is much written in the legal literature about how laws are made in Canada (see the resources in Section I, below in this chapter). To properly verify that a particular statute or section of a statute is current, it helps to review the legislative process to see how a bill (as draft legislation) becomes a binding "in force" statute.
As a starting point, the political party holding the highest number of seats controls the legislative process through its majority control of the legislature. As such, the party in power will introduce legislation that supports its political policies. Quite often, legislation and policies will be discussed by Cabinet and then the details of the legislation will be worked upon by the deputy minister and his staff for the relevant ministry most closely associated with the subject matter of the legislation.
Once the draft legislation has been prepared, it will be introduced into the legislature as a bill and must pass through three stages or "readings" before it can become law. The procedure below describes the typical process for provincial legislation.
First reading: The bill is introduced by the Minister responsible, who may also explain its objectives and make a motion for its formal introduction. If the members vote in favour of the bill, it is assigned a number, printed, given to each member of the legislative assembly, and scheduled for future debate (there is usually no debate on first reading). Provincial bills are assigned a (consecutive) number depending whether they are public bills (Bill 76) or private bills (Bill Pr 7).15Second reading: The bill is debated in the Legislative Assembly. There is then a vote whether the bill will proceed to the committee stage (or directly to third reading stage, in some cases). If the bill is "sent to committee," this means it will be examined in detail by the committee for that subject matter or ministry (a "standing committee") or by a specially created committee (a "select" committee). The committee will usually be made up of members from all political parties but controlled by the party with majority power. The bill is usually discussed section by section (time permitting). This is the stage where changes are made, sometimes as a result of political compromise, sometimes because of a change in policy by the government, and sometimes simply to improve clarity.
The committee process may last a few days or a few months, depending on the bill. The committee will then debate whether to send
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the bill to the Committee of the whole House (for more study by the entire legislature) or...
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