Senate.

• Author: Belzile, Marie-Eve
• Position: Legislative Report

In the Senate, the final months of the second session of the 40th Parliament were marked by the passage of a number of government bills and the retirement of four senators.

Bill S-8 was passed by the Senate on December 15 and sent to the House of Commons for its consideration. The Governor General, Michaelle Jean, signified royal assent to Bill-C 50 on November 5 by written declaration. Bills C-51, C-62, C-56 and C-64 received royal assent on the Senate's last sitting day before adjournment for the winter recess (December 15) by written declaration of Louis LeBel, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, acting for the Governor General.

Bills

Bill C-50 was referred to committee in September on a motion by Senator James Cowan. Adoption of his motion made it possible to proceed with pre-study of the Bill, that is, to begin considering it while it was still before the House of Commons. This procedure generally speeds up passage of a bill in the Senate once it has been passed by the Commons. The aim of Bill C-50 was to extend temporarily the duration of regular employment insurance benefits paid to long-tenured workers who lose their jobs. It was received in the Senate in November and was passed on division but without amendment the following day.

In December, Senator Joseph Day presented the 12th report of the Standing Committee on National Finance on Bill C-51, with two amendments. The same day, a point of order was raised respecting the admissibility of the Committee's report. The Speaker of the Senate handed down his decision on December 9, ruling that the point of order was established and that the amendments in the report were thus out of order. Since the report consisted entirely of the amendments that were ruled out of order, its content was evacuated. On December 10, after debate, the Senate adopted Bill C-51 at Third Reading, on division.

On December 15, Senator Day presented the 14th report of the Standing Committee on National Finance on Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, without amendment but with observations. Like Bill C-50, C-56 had been the subject several days previously of a pre-study by the Senate, which enabled it to be passed rapidly at Third Reading without amendment. Observations are appended to a committee report as a way of commenting, for information purposes, on a wide range of bill-related issues. They are not subject to debate.

Bill C-15...