Realwomen of BC - Archives - December2003 - Letter from The President

THE REAL NEWS The R.E.A.L WOMEN of BC Newsletter December 2003, BOX 39068, Point Grey RPO, Vancouver, BC V6R 4P1, Tel/Fax: 604- 463-1611, website: http://www.realwomen.bc.ca, e-mail: lgeschke@almatree.net Back to contents
Letter From The President One of our list members asked what the process is which a draft bill undergoes to become law. This is what happens to an idea for a new law which is not put forward by the ruling government party. Let’s use Private Members'' Bill, such as C-250, initiated by Svend Robinson as an example. Initially, there is an all party selection committee which looks at each private member''s bill. They take a vote on whether a bill will be votable. If it passes this, it goes to Parliament for 1st and 2nd reading in the House of Commons, debate and vote. This may take several days, weeks, or months. If passed; then they are Sent to the applicable "standing" (always there) House Committee (made up of MP''s from all parties) where it is studied, and researched, and where the public can be invited to have input. Apparently there were hundreds of groups which wanted to appear on C_250 but the Committee only sat for two days and heard 8 witnesses. REAL Women of Canada was one of the witness-groups. Amendments can be made here which must be voted on in the House of Commons to be accepted. The debates of the Justice Committee dealing with C-250 indicate that there are serious unforseen problems with the new system. Even a supporter of C-250 and Gay Pride Montreal participant, Marlene Jennings, MP, had difficulty with the new process and expressed this to the Committee toward the end of the Justice Committee sitting on C-250. Then from committee the bill is passed back to the House of Commons for 3rd reading in the House, debate and vote (may take several days, weeks, or months) and the Bill is passed by the House of Commons or rejected. If the Bill is passed, it goes through the same process in the Senate. First and 2nd reading in the Senate and debate (may take several days, weeks, or months). From there, the bill is sent to the applicable standing Senate Committee (made up of Liberal, Conservative and Independent Senators) where it is studied, and researched, and where Canadians can have input. It could be amended at this point, if the committee saw fit and then it is passed back to the Senate for 3rd reading in the Senate, with possible amendments debated and finally the whole Bill debated and voted on (this may take several days, weeks, or months) and the bill is either passed by the Senate or rejected. If it is passed by the Senate the Bill is given "Royal Assent". Under recently amended House of Commons Rules of Procedure, bills before the House of Commons at prorogation, such C-250, can be brought back to life if the government wishes to do so. Consequently, prorogation does not mean bills are completely dead, because, in theory, they can be revived when the House of Commons resumes sitting. Any revival of bills puts them at the same stage they had reached prior to prorogation. However, in order for bills to be revived, they have to be exactly the same wording as they were at the time of prorogation. The huge question, then, in the case of Bill C-250, is: will Mr. Martin want to continue Mr. ChrÈtien’s legacy by reviving these exact same bills? Probably not, as Mr. Martin will certainly want to put his own stamp on Parliament before it dissolves before the 2004 election. That is, Mr. Martin will want to make clear that his term as Prime Minister is not just a continuation of Mr. ChrÈtien’s. Mr. Martin will want to establish the fact that a new government has taken office, worthy of being elected to power on its own merits.

Letter From The President