Senate.

AuthorBelzile, Marie-Eve
PositionLegislative Reports - Canada

Translation: Sylvia Ford Secretariat of the Assembly The Senate sat for a brief period following the adjournment for the Christmas holidays. The upper house had only a few weeks to consider the bills before the 40th Parliament was dissolved on Saturday, March 26, 2011.

With rumours of an election circulating, the senators worked diligently to study and pass several new bills, primarily those sponsored by the government.

Royal assent was given four times in the week prior to dissolution, an indication of the Senate's desire to pass proposed legislation into law. On March 23, David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, came to the Senate Chamber for the traditional ceremony and gave royal assent to the following bills: S-5; S-6; C-14; C-22; C-48; C-21; C-30; C-35; C-42; C-61. Later that day, a written declaration of royal assent was signed for Bill C-59, which had just passed third reading. The next day, the Speaker of the Senate advised the Senate that another written declaration of royal assent had been signed earlier that day for Bill C-55. Lastly, on Friday, March 25, the Speaker pro tempore announced that two House of Commons private member's bills, C-442 and C-475, had been given royal assent.

All bills still on the Order Paper or being considered in committee died when Parliament was dissolved.

Points of order and Speaker's rulings

In the weeks prior to dissolution, the Speaker was called on to make two rulings on points of order.

On March 21, the Speaker Noiel Kinsella rendered a lengthy decision on a point of order raised by Senator Anne Cools on February 9, 2011. The point of order concerned the possible requirement that Bill C-232, An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, would require royal consent and the procedure to be followed should this consent be necessary. Senator Cools felt that Bill C-232 would constrain the Crown's power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court by disabling individuals who would otherwise be qualified for the position.

The Speaker began by addressing the issue of when royal consent should be obtained or signified. He reminded senators that there was no prohibition against obtaining consent at the beginning of deliberations on a bill, but that it was an accepted practice in Parliament to obtain it only before third reading in order to allow for as full a debate as possible. It is also the common Canadian practice to signify royal consent in one house only--usually the House of Commons, where most government...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT