As we kick off 2023, the order papers in both chambers on Parliament Hill remain full of bills that are either still being debated or awaiting debate to begin.
Last fall's sitting was relatively busy, but only two government bills unrelated to the budget or inflation relief measures received royal assent:
Bill S-4 makes permanent some of the changes to the courts that the government adopted at the height of the pandemic.
Bill C-5 eliminated specific mandatory minimum sentences on gun and drug offences that were deemed to contribute to the over-incarceration of Black and Indigenous people.
The politics driving the agenda
The Liberal government made a deal last year with the NDP to govern until 2025, so it appears a federal election is not in the cards anytime soon. Still, most minority governments in Canada last less than two years, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has been warning (convincingly or not) that his party is ready to withdraw from the confidence-and-supply agreement should the Liberals fall short in addressing the healthcare crisis.
That could imperil bills slowly wending their way through the House and Senate.
What remains on the order paper
These government bills are at different stages in both chambers:
Bill S-5 makes several technical changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the Food and Drugs Act, most notably adding the right to a healthy environment. The bill also amends provisions around toxic substances and assessing and managing environmental risks associated with foods, drugs, cosmetics, and devices. It was introduced in the Senate and is now undergoing consideration at committee in the House of Commons.
Bill S-6 is a technical omnibus bill amending several different statutes as part of a regulatory modernization initiative to remove barriers to economic growth and innovation. It has passed the Senate and has yet to see debate in the House of Commons.
Bill S-7 has been relatively controversial. It proposed creating a permissive new standard by which border officers could examine personal digital devices. Senators objected to the new standard and amended the bill to require that preclearance officers require "reasonable grounds to suspect" before conducting a search. As amended, the bill passed the Senate but has languished on the order paper in the Commons without debate.
Bill S-8 introduces to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act inadmissibility provisions relating to sanctions, including removal orders. It, too, has passed the Senate and has made it through a few hours of debate at second reading in the House.
Bill S-9 amends the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act to avoid potential discrepancies with its namesake convention. This bill had passed the Senate but died on the order paper at the last election call. It has passed the Senate again but has yet to be debated in the House.
Bill S-11 is a technical bill that works to harmonize federal law with Quebec civil law and ensures that each language version of existing legislation takes into account both common and civil law. It was introduced and passed by the Senate over the fall, and awaits debate in the House.
Bill C-9 amends the Judges Act to replace the process by which the Canadian Judicial Council reviews the conduct of federally appointed judges and establishes a new process regarding allegations of misconduct not serious enough to warrant removal from the bench. The bill had previously been introduced in the Senate before getting dropped and re-introduced in the House, where it passed shortly before rising for the winter break. It is now awaiting debate in the Senate.
Bill C-11 is a highly controversial bill to amend the Broadcasting Act to bring streaming services into the Canadian content ecosystem and contribute financially to it. It also seeks to make Canadian content more discoverable on streaming platforms. The bill spent the entire fall sitting in committee in the Senate, receiving several amendments. It is now at its third reading in the Senate.
Bill C-13 is the government's overhaul of the Official Languages Act, given the attention paid to the alleged decline of French, particularly in Quebec. It spent the entire fall sitting under consideration at committee in the House, where it is still being debated. The Senate's official languages committee has also been conducting a pre-study of the bill. It will send over recommendations before it concludes at the Commons committee.
Bill C-18 is the government's plan to impose a bargaining system onto negotiations between web giants and news media outlets to pay for content, similar to the Australian model. It has completed third reading in the House and now awaits Senate debate.
Bill C-20 would create a new Public Complaints and Review Commission for the RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency. However, there are concerns that the proposed commission, as an independent oversight body, won't have real teeth to carry out its mandate. The bill has passed second reading in the Commons and is now being studied at committee.
Bill C-21 is the government's centrepiece gun control bill that would end the importation of handguns and increase penalties for several firearms-related offences. It spent the entire fall sitting in committee study, which saw amendments that would codify the government's "assault-style weapons ban" in legislation. But that created an outcry among farmers, hunters, and Indigenous communities. Consideration has been paused for more consultations.
Bill C-22 is the government's plan to create new benefits under the Income Tax Act to alleviate poverty for persons with disabilities. It has passed committee study and is at the report stage in the House of Commons.
Bill C-23 would see greater Indigenous participation in the designation of historical places or sites of national historical significance and their conservation. The bill has undergone a few hours of debate at second reading.
Bill C-26 makes technical changes to the Telecommunications Act around securing systems against cyber-attacks and enacts parts of the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act. The bill has also seen a few hours of debate at second reading.
Bill C-27 is the government's promised overhaul of federal privacy legislation to make it more compliant with the digital era, including establishing a new Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal. It has undergone a couple of days of debate at second reading.
Bill C-29 proposes the creation of a national council for reconciliation in response to Call to Action 53 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It passed the House and is currently under second reading debate in the Senate.
Bill C-33 makes amendments to railway safety and seeks to modernize the governance of federally-owned and regulated ports. It has been introduced but has yet to be debated.
Bill C-34 seeks to modernize the national security review portions of the Investment Canada Act. It has been introduced but has yet to be debated.
Bill C-35 looks to create a federal framework in legislation for the continued funding of provincial early learning and childcare, proofing it somewhat against its dismantling by future government to dismantle. It was introduced but has yet to be debated.
Bill C-37 seeks to amend legislation pertaining to the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal, in advance of a promised modernization of the EI system. It has yet to be debated.
Bill C-38 enacts changes required by the Nicolas v. Canada decision around Indian Act registration for those who had previously been disqualified in discriminatory ways. This also seeks to hold off on further litigation by First Nations families looking to end the inequities and exclusion faced by those who were "enfranchised" under previous versions of the Indian Act. It has been introduced but has yet to be debated.
