OTTAWA –
Parliament has entered a long winter recess, but more than a hundred bills are still on the table and ready to be picked up when lawmakers return to Ottawa at the end of January.
Some are top liberal priorities. Others are government promises languishing on the table. And dozens were proposed by individual senators or members of Parliament, some of which are getting closer to becoming law despite the usual uphill battle to capture the attention of the legislature.
In all, the House of Commons is still considering 54 proposed laws, 21 of which were tabled by federal ministers. The Senate has 48 in hand, five of them bills.
Here are some bills worth considering in 2023.
government bills
Bill C-11, Online Streaming Act: The bill would change streaming rules to reflect the advent of big streaming platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify. Six months after lawmakers approved the bill, senators introduced key amendments, including to remove ambiguity over whether user-generated content can be regulated. They are expected to send it back to the Chamber shortly after the holidays. In theory, the resulting seesaw could go on forever, but senators generally abide by the House’s decision on whether to pass any changes.
Bill C-13, amending the Official Languages Act: Introduced in March, the bill would update language laws and strengthen the government’s obligations to protect and promote French. It is going through a preliminary study in the Senate and is going through a House committee.
Bill C-18, the Online News Act: This legislation would create a framework that would require tech giants like Google and Meta to negotiate agreements to compensate Canadian news outlets when they share news content on their platforms. The House passed it just before the holidays, drawing the ire of Meta, who said he would consider removing Canadian news content from his Facebook platform entirely if the bill continues to progress, and sent it to the Senate.
Bill C-21, Firearms: This is the bill that would increase the maximum penalties for certain firearms offenses, enshrine the ban on firearms into law, and create a definition of firearms of “robbery style” illegal in Canada. That definition, introduced during a House committee study this fall, has proven controversial enough that further study is likely, and even more changes could be made.
Canada Disability Benefit Bill C-22: Introduced last June, it would create a new disability benefit. It is nearing House approval after a committee approved it earlier this month with several amendments, including some that strengthen requirements that people with disabilities participate in the development and design of regulations.
Bill C-27, The Digital Charter Implementation Act – Legislation revising Canada’s privacy laws and creating new rules on artificial intelligence and data was introduced in June but is still being debated at second reading in the Camera.
Bill C-29, to create a national reconciliation council: The bill establishing a national council to oversee the government’s progress on reconciliation is on second reading in the Senate after passing the House earlier from December.
Bill C-35, which commits the government to long-term funding to provinces and indigenous peoples for early learning and childcare: Liberals introduced it earlier this month and have touted childcare as a priority .
Bill S-5, Amending Canada’s Environmental Protection Act: The bill would recognize “that every individual in Canada has the right to a healthy environment” and establish a new framework for environmental risk management. It has already been approved in the Senate and is getting closer to being approved in the House, where it is being considered by the environmental committee.
Bills presented by deputies and senators
Bill C-215, which would increase the maximum number of weeks people can receive benefits under employment insurance due to “illness, injury or quarantine”: Conservative MP Jacques Gourde introduced the bill last December and is awaiting a final vote in the House. The government announced in November that sickness benefits under EI would be extended to a maximum of 26 weeks, but Gourde’s bill would make it 52 weeks, or a full year.
Bill C-226, which would require the environment minister to develop a national strategy on environmental racism: Green MP Elizabeth May introduced the bill in February, months before she was chosen to lead the party again on a ticket Joint with Jonathan Pedneault. A committee of the Commons approved it in November.
Intimate Partner Violence Bill C-233: The bill would require judges to consider whether a person accused of intimate partner violence should wear an electronic monitoring device before issuing a release order. Introduced by Liberal MP Anju Dhillon, it passed the House of Commons in June and is now being considered by a Senate committee.
Bill C-248, which would create Canada’s Ojibway National Urban Park: New Windsor Democrat MP Brian Masse’s bill regarding a park in his town also passed without amendment by a House committee in November .
Bill C-291, amending the Penal Code to replace the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse and exploitation material”: Conservative MP Mel Arnold introduced the bill in June and is already awaiting a final vote in the House of Commons. .
Bill S-210, which would make it illegal for organizations to make sexually explicit material available to youth online: Penalties for convictions under the law would be up to $500,000 and the government would have the power to seek a court order requiring Internet service providers to prevent access to the material. Senator Julie Miville-Dechene’s bill is awaiting a final vote in the Senate before being sent to the House.
Bill S-211, which requires government institutions and private sector entities to report on measures taken to reduce the risk that they or their supply chains use forced or child labor: the Miville-Dechene bill it passed the Senate in April and a House committee approved it unchanged in late November, meaning it is now two votes away from becoming law.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on December 23, 2022.