Senate.

• Author: Mussell, Mary
• Position: ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE

The careful and thorough study of Bill C-2, the Federal Accountability Act, is a fine example of the work done by Senate committees. One of the most significant pieces of legislation to come before Parliament in recent years, Bill C-2 was massive in size and contained issues that were both complex and far-reaching. The Senate, mindful of its constitutional role, was anxious to move the bill to committee where it would examine all aspects of the bill in-depth. Bill C-2 was referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on June 27 after two days of second reading debate. It was in this committee that Bill C-2 was subjected to an intense review.

The Committee held 30 meetings during the early summer and late fall and heard testimony from over 150 witnesses. In its report to the Senate on October 26, the Committee proposed 156 amendments to the bill. They concerned issues that varied from political financing to whistleblower protection, but it was the package of amendments about the Senate Ethics Officer that was the focus of much of the debate in the Senate. Senators were concerned about the implications of the amalgamation of functions of the Senate Ethics Officer and the House of Commons Ethics Commissioner in the proposed Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. Some senators argued that the combination of this position threatened the independence of the Senate and its right to govern its own affairs. They maintained, as they had in 2004 when the Senate Ethics Officer was created as a result of Bill C-4, that only a separate and independent Senate Ethics Officer was acceptable.

In addition to the many amendments recommended by the committee, further amendments were made at report stage and third reading before the bill was returned to the Commons on November 9. On November 23, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee was asked to consider the Message from the Commons on November 21 as well as the Senate Government Leader's motion to concur. In its report of December 7, the committee recommended that the Senate agree to many of the proposals made by the Commons to the Senate amendments and non-insistence to many others. It also recommended that the Senate insist on its amendments which dealt with the Senate Ethics Officer, given their significant importance to the status and privileges of the Senate. When Bill C-2 was accepted in its final form on December 8, over 90 Senate amendments had been agreed to between the...