Legislative summaries

  1. Legislative Summary of Bill C-29: An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation

    (Revised)
    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-c29-e.pdf (954.58 KB)
    This bill provides for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation as an independent, non-political, permanent and Indigenous-led organization whose purpose is to advance efforts for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. It responds to Call to Action no. 53 made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Indigenous peoples
    Nonprofit organizations
    Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
    Relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons

  2. Legislative Summary of Bill C-27: An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts

    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-c27-e.pdf (1.02 MB)
    This bill creates three new pieces of legislation: the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act (Tribunal Act) and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AI Act). It repeals Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and changes the short title to the Electronic Documents Act.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Artificial intelligence
    Consumer rights
    Electronic commerce
    Federal administrative tribunals
    Personal data
    Privacy
    Privacy Commissioner of Canada
    Statutes

  3. Legislative Summary of Bill C-28: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (self-induced extreme intoxication)

    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-c28-e.pdf (894.18 KB)
    This bill amends the Criminal Code to provide for criminal liability for violent crimes of general intent committed by a person while in a state of negligent self-induced extreme intoxication.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Criminal liability
    Criminal negligence
    Non-insane automatism
    Statutes

  4. Legislative Summary of Bill C-19: An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on 7 April 2022 and other measures

    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-c19-e.pdf (1.02 MB)
    This bill has five parts. Part 1 implements various income tax measures through amendments to the Income Tax Act and other related laws, such as doubling the allowable qualifying expense limit under the Home Accessibility Tax Credit and providing a Labour Mobility Deduction for the temporary relocation of tradespeople. Part 2 implements Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) measures concerning assignment sales of residential housing and the rebates for health care services supplied by charities or non-profit organizations. Part 3 amends or repeals various provisions the Excise Act, 2001, and other related texts to implement a new federal excise duty framework for vaping products and change how excise duties apply to certain wine or beer products. Part 4 enacts the Select Luxury Items Tax Act, which creates a new taxation regime for Canadian sales and importations of certain new motor vehicles, aircraft, and boats. Part 5 implements a range of measures and is subdivided into 32 divisions. It amends many existing pieces of legislation that concern various areas of law. It also enacts the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by An Act to Implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America concerning Cooperation on the Civil Lunar Gateway and to make related amendments to other Acts.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Excise taxes
    Federal taxes
    Income taxes
    Luxury taxes
    Sales taxes
    Statutes

  5. Legislative Summary of Bill S-211: An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff

    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-s211-e.pdf (934.72 KB)
    This bill enacts the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which imposes an obligation on certain government institutions and private-sector entities to report on the measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used by them or in their supply chains. The Act provides for an inspection regime applicable to entities and gives the Minister the power to require an entity to provide certain information. It also amends the Customs Tariff to allow for a prohibition on the importation of goods manufactured or produced, in whole or in part, by forced labour or child labour as those terms are defined in the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Audit
    Fair trade
    Forced labour
    Human rights
    Imports
    International trade
    Minors
    Social responsibility of business
    Statutes
    Tariffs

  6. Legislative Summary of Bill S-6: An Act respecting regulatory modernization

    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-s6-e.pdf (947.28 KB)
    This bill amends various Acts as part of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative in order to repeal or amend provisions that have, over time, become barriers to innovation and economic growth or to add certain provisions with a view to support innovation and economic growth.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Economic development
    Industrial productivity
    Legislation
    Regulation and deregulation of commerce
    Statutes

  7. Legislative Summary of Bill S-4: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (COVID-19 response and other measures)

    (Revised)
    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-s4-e.pdf (838.58 KB)
    This bill aims to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and accessibility of the criminal justice system in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the bill: allows law enforcement officers to obtain warrants by telecommunication (i.e., “telewarrants”) in a wider range of circumstances;·clarifies and broadens the circumstances under which accused individuals, offenders, and others involved in criminal proceedings may appear by video and/or audioconference;·permits prospective jurors to appear by videoconference during the jury selection process and provides for jury selection via electronic or other automated means;·allows courts to compel the attendance of an accused or offender for finger printing or other identification measures in certain additional circumstances;·removes restrictions on the development of case management rules for accused individuals not represented by counsel; and makes a number of technical amendments to correct minor errors and simplify the language in the Criminal Code.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Criminal law
    Legal proceedings
    Police power
    Videoconferencing

  8. Legislative Summary of Bill C-13: An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts

    (Revised)
    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-c13-e.pdf (1.21 MB)
    This bill amends the Official Languages Act to, among other things, specify that all legal obligations related to the official languages apply at all times, including during emergencies; codify certain interpretative principles regarding language rights; provide that section 16 of that Act applies to the Supreme Court of Canada; provide for Government of Canada commitments to protect and promote French, contribute to an estimate of the number of children whose parents are rights holders under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, advance opportunities for members of English and French linguistic minority communities to pursue quality learning in their own language throughout their lives, including from early childhood to post-secondary education, and advance the use of English and French in the conduct of Canada’s external affairs; provide for certain measures that the Minister of Canadian Heritage may take to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society; and provide that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is required to adopt a policy on francophone immigration. It also enacts the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, which, among other things, provides for rights and duties respecting the use of French as a language of service and a language of work in relation to federally regulated private businesses in Quebec and then, at a later date, in regions with a strong francophone presence. That Act also allows employees of federally regulated private businesses to make a complaint to the Commissioner of Official Languages with respect to rights and duties in relation to language of work and allows the Commissioner to refer the complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board in certain circumstances. It also provides that the Minister of Canadian Heritage is responsible for promoting those rights. Finally, Part 2 makes related amendments to the Canada Labour Code.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Anglophone minorities
    Development and vitality of linguistic minorities
    Equality of status of both official languages
    Federally regulated private businesses
    Francophone minorities
    French language
    Language of work
    Legislation
    Official languages

  9. Legislative Summary of Bill C-14: An Act to Amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Electoral Representation)

    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    44-1-c14-e.pdf (933.46 KB)
    This bill amends section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867 to provide that, when the number of members of the House of Commons and the representation of the provinces in that House are readjusted on the completion of each decennial census, a province will not have fewer members assigned to it than were assigned during the 43rd Parliament. It also includes transitional measures providing for the application of that amendment to the readjustment of electoral boundaries under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act following the 2021 decennial census.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Constitution Act, 1867
    Electoral boundaries readjustment
    Members of Parliament
    Proportional representation
    Representation by population

  10. Legislative Summary of Bill S-5: An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, to make related amendments to the Food and Drugs Act and to repeal the Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Virtual Elimination Act

    (Revised)
    Legislative Summary
    44-1
    pv_44-1-s5-e.pdf (884.67 KB)
    This bill amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). It recognizes Canadians’ right to a healthy environment and enshrines the Government of Canada’s duty to protect this right. The bill requires the ministers of the Environment and Health to consider vulnerable populations and cumulative effects when assessing a substance’s potential to be toxic or to become toxic. The bill creates a two-track prioritization regime for the regulation of toxic substances under CEPA. The bill amends the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) to create an environmental risk assessment and management regime for drugs. The FDA already sets out a framework for assessing and managing health risks to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of drugs; however, the environmental risks of drug ingredients are currently assessed under CEPA. The amendments establish a single assessment regime under the FDA to assess both the environmental risks and health risks of drugs.

    This legislative summary is available as an unedited preliminary version in PDF format only. If the bill receives Royal Assent, this version will be replaced by a final version available in both HTML and PDF formats.

    Ecotoxicity
    Medication
    Poisonous and infectious materials
    Pollution prevention
    Statutes