We’ve provided some extensive coverage of Bill C-32 including a detailed analysis that allows readers to decipher our interpretations for themselves. Since our detailed review, a number of you have asked us in our comments and via e-mail if the bill is passed or not. We are more than happy to answer this question.
The basic question of whether this bill is passed or not is very easy to answer – it has not passed and no, it is not law.
So, what’s the status of the bill? One can take a look at the bill on the Canadian governments website which shows not only what the status of the bill is, but also how far along it is. All government bills including the status are available on this site (for the status, just click on the bill you want to know about and click on “Status of the Bill” and you can get the progress report).
For Bill C-32, it was tabled and is in its first reading. From the site, that’s pretty much the very first step and it hasn’t progressed any further then that. In order for it to pass, these are the steps the bill can take according to the government website:
1. Passage through the first House (sometimes the Senate, usually the House of Commons)
The process in each Chamber is similar:
* First reading (the bill proposing a law is received, printed and circulated)
* Second reading (the principle of the bill is debated: is the bill good policy?)
* Committee stage
Step one: members of the public appear as witnesses before a committee*
Step two: committee members study the bill, clause by clause
Step three: the committee adopts a report on the bill, recommending that it be accepted as is, or with amendments, or that it not be proceeded with further
* Report stage (motions to amend specific clauses of the bill are considered by the whole House)
* Third reading (final approval of the bill)2. Passage through the second House
3. Royal Assent by the Governor General makes the bill law
So, what are the chances of the bill being passed? Well, the government can squish all the readings in to one session to speed up the progress of the bill. Considering how divisive this bill is in the government (namely on the anti-circumvention provisions in the bill with scant exceptions), that doesn’t appear to be likely to happen.
That just leaves the question of whether the bill will make it through. Remember, if an election is called at any time, that kills all the bills (dying on the order paper) and the whole process has to start all over again. So far, in 2010, a grand total of 11 bills received royal assent out of the 45 that was tabled. When a bill is controversial (like Bill C-32), that can definitely slow things down for the bills progress.
In my opinion, it would be extremely hard to get this bill passed. Whether good or bad, the ultimate enemy to the bill, like it’s predecessors, remains to be calls for an election.
We should note that we are not professionally trained as political scientist professionals nor are we professionally trained in Canadian law. We are merely acting as a concerned Canadian citizen and researching the issues. Regardless, we hope that the above information helps to answer some of your questions.
If you have a question, you can always post it up on our forums or comment on a related news story in the comments section. Alternatively, you can always contact me via e-mail at [email protected] or you can contact my fellow ZeroPaid writer Jared Moya at [email protected] He is also a great wealth of knowledge. We can’t promise to get to everyone’s e-mail, but we certainly do try. Who knows? It could be an another news story topic.
Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at [email protected].
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Fuck U Steven Harper, you dictator wannabe
your mom goes to college
I was wondering who appoints the committee for study, who these people are and who they would be going to for witnesses? I run a site that features mashups and know that corporate perspectives may be allowed the only perspective on this, which may not be good for Canada.
If you are a person looking to become an immigrant, what laws would I need to know to both own a vitamin, grow it myself, and/or buy it if moving to Canada. No information on Bill c-6 that I can find, was it passed and how is it implicated to the public? Now bill c-32, is there an overview I can read of it.
I’m into organic gardening and would like to know. Not the best gardener, but surely well enough to grow my own herbs. What does it mean to the public as it stands? Are they still raiding peoples houses for no reason in Canada? Charging ridiculous amounts of fines?
If people voted bimbos out, voted in more ethnic types for political representation, that certainly should get rid of the Nazi/ National Socialist politics being they think they are superior to ethnics.
I’m glad to see Canada trying to fight back. We’re in a losing battle to whose got the money, and currently whose got the money is Nazis and the bimbos are crawling under them at every step for more money, lobbying and harassing for them on the boards and public tv.
If you want to rid your country of this, outlaw boob jobs, perfumes, make-up, and died yellow blond hair dye. Each day in court over these bills, outlaw or remove retailers of such items, and you would be surprised at how much public backing this illegal bills would have. Make the bimbo go o’natural, roots and all, no perfume, face makeup, illegalize the fake boobs, I guarantee, they would be standing in line to protect your right to own/grow/buy vitamins of any kind.
Wow, Drew. This post demonstrates a shocking level of ignorance of Canada’s most basic legislative processes.
“In order for it to pass, it would have to pass the House of Commons in the first reading, then get passed along to the Senate for its first reading. From there, it’s like a ping-pong ball match between the House of Commons and the senate. It would go back to the House for a second reading, then back to the Senate for a second reading, then back to the House for a third and final reading, then to the senate for a third and final reading. After that, it then receives what is known as “Royal Assent” so it can then become law. After that, it’s only a matter of time before the laws take effect (ala the “coming in to force” seen at the end of the bill)”
No, this is incorrect. First, all Government Bills are introduced in the House of Commons at First Reading. Then it goes to Second Reading where it is debated by the House and referred to a Committee for study. The Committee typically studies the Bill, hears from witness, makes amendments, and then makes a report to the House. The Bill (as amended by the Committee) is then debated again at Third Reading and voted on by the House. If it passes, the Bill then goes to the Senate, where if follows the identical path (1st Reading, 2nd Reading, Committee, 3rd Reading). If the Senate amends the Bill, it must go back to the House for approval. If the Senate passes the Bill, it goes the the Governor General for Royal Assent.
While I appreciate that you’re not a political scientist, this process is described in the Canadian Parliament wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Canada , and I’d hope for better basic research skills from a self-described online news outlet.
1. This was corrected faster than you could insult me.
2. There was no need to insult me.
3. There are better sources of information than Wikipedia on this matter (I happen to have chosen the government websites FAQ and judging by your source, I could have done a whole lot worse)
4. If you are going to use Wikipedia as a source, learn how Wikipedias anchor link system works instead of vaguely linking to the page that describes something as broad as the Canadian Parliament in general.
5. The original question was “is this bill law?” to which the answer still remains “no”.