The Senate.

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

On June 26, 2013, the Senate adjourned for the summer after a busy three months which saw the passage of 28 bills: 19 from government; seven by Members of Parliament; and two sponsored by Senators. The bills ranged from the usual supply and budget bills, to closing loopholes in the Civil Marriage Act, to one officially creating the new Sable Island National park in Nova Scotia.

A great deal of attention was also paid to the Senate's study of Bill C-377, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations), a bill that did not receive Royal Assent. Seeking to change financial disclosure rules for unions with more than 5,000 members, the bill was amended by the Senate at third reading, after lengthy debate.

Prima Facie Case of Privilege

The Leader of the Opposition, Senator James Cowan, raised a question of privilege on May 7 about a witness who had been invited to appear before the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence during its study of a bill but had not done so because of pressures exerted on him by his employer, the RCMP. The following day, the Speaker ruled that a prima facie case of privilege had been established and the matter was referred for study to the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. The committee heard from the witness in question and representatives of the RCMP. Although the committee stated in its report that while there had been an encroachment into the rights of Parliament, it felt that the RCMP had demonstrated that this type of encroachment would not occur again. As a result, the committee saw no reason to recommend a sanction or a censure. The report was adopted by the Senate on June 26, 2013.

Committees

While the usual examination of bills and other policy studies continued in the other standing committees, much of the focus of the public and the media was on the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and the issues with which it was seized, including the investigations into the living allowances of several Senators. On May 9, 2013 the committee presented four reports to the Senate, three of which were specific to the expenses of individual Senators. The fourth report proposed changes to the Senators' Travel Policy and other related matters. All of the reports were adopted by the Senate by the end of May and can be viewed online at http://www.parl...