Legislative Branch

Hello! Welcome to our page on the Legislative Branch! The legislative branch is where laws are made, debated and passed.

So how is a law made? Well a proposed law or change in law is called a bill. There's more than one type of bill, for example government bills and private bills. A government bill is introduced by a Minister of the Crown. The majority of government bills are introduced to the house of commons, but some are introduced to the senate. 

Another type of bill is a private members bill. A private members is a bill by a member of parliament who isn't a cabinet minister. Senate public bills are by senators who aren't ministers. Although the legislative process is the same, less time may be spent on a private members bill compared to a Government bill. 

A private bill is  a bill that provides immunity from the law to a certain project or group. Usually introduced in the senate, private bills can only be introduced by a senator and MP's (members of parliament) that aren't part of the cabinet. 

So you're probably thinking "When does a bill become Law?" Well, a bill has to go through the legislative process in the house of commons and senate, before it becomes law. 

The first part of the legislative process in the House of Commons or the Senate is the introduction, and first reading of the bill. In this part of the process the bill gets printed and it is given a number. 

The next part of the process is the second reading. In this part of the process the whole idea of the bill is discussed. Then the bill undergoes a more detailed review by a committee. It is important to note that a bill can be referred to a committee before this point.  

Next is the committee consideration where the bill is thoroughly analyzed. The bill is then refers the bill back to the House of Commons/Senate. 

The bill is debated for the final time in the Third Reading. This debate is focused on the final draft of the bill. 

The Passage and Royal Assent is the last part of the bill. In this stage a bill that was introduced to in the House of Commons, and went through the legislative process there now goes through the same process in the Senate. If the bill was introduced in the Senate and went through the legislative process there, it now goes through the same process in the House of Commons. When the bill has been through both the House of Commons and the Senate it is presented for Royal Assent. To be presented for Royal Assent both the House of Commons and Senate must fully agree of the contents of the bill. 

Royal Assent is the Queen's assent of the bill. In Canada the Queen is represented by the Govener General. Once the Governor General gives consent to the bill on behalf of the Queen it becomes an Act of Parliament. Royal Assent can be announced at a ceremony in the Senate with the House of Commons present, or in a written declaration and then announced at both the Senate and House of Commons.

A diagram of the Legislative houses can be found below:  Source of Image

-Summary by Myron

This is a summary of the information from: http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/Faq.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1

Other References: 
http://sen.parl.gc.ca/portal/canada-senators-e.htm
http://mapleleafweb.com/features/canadian-senate-role-powers-operation
http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/parliament/senatoreugeneforsey/inside_view/puzzle_content-e.html