Introduction to Legislative Process

The examination and enactment of legislation are often regarded as the most significant tasks of Parliament. In fact, the legislative process takes up a major portion of Parliament's time. But what exactly is the legislative process? In the Parliament of Canada, as in all legislative assemblies based on the British model, there is a clearly defined method for enacting legislation. A bill must go through a number of very specific stages in the House of Commons and the Senate before it becomes law. These stages are what is referred to as the legislative process.

When the House of Commons and the Senate pass a bill, they are asking the Crown to proclaim that this text is the law of the land. Once Royal Assent is given to the bill, it is transformed from a bill to a statute. Because the process by which a legislative proposal becomes first a bill, and then a law, takes place in Parliament, the product - the statute is often called an "Act of Parliament".

Traditionally, the process begins with a bill being introduced in one of the Houses of Parliament and ends with the ceremony of Royal Assent, which brings together the three constituent elements of Parliament: the Crown, the Senate and the House of Commons. The process is complex, but the validation of a statute is the result of the approval of the same text by the three constituent elements of Parliament.

At the beginning of the 35th Parliament in 1994, the Standing Orders were amended to make the legislative process more flexible. New provisions were added that provide for the preparation of bills by committees, and to allow a Minister to move that a government bill be referred to committee before second reading.

The revisions to the Standing Orders reflect changing attitudes and new ideas about how the legislature performs one of its core functions. Speaker Milliken's rulings must interpret the new rules in a way that is consistent with the intentions of the House in adopting the changes, while respecting the traditions and precedents that have been established over time.

Here are examples: of the Speaker's rulings concerning matters of the Legislative Process:

The Legislative Process
Report Stage Motions in Amendment
Speaker's guidelines for selection
March 21, 2001

The Legislative Process
Point of Order
Admissibility of Senate Bill S-15
June 12, 2001

Legislative Process
Time allocation at Third Reading of a bill
June 3, 2002