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Journals of the Senate

51 Elizabeth II, A.D. 2002, Canada

Journals of the Senate

1st Session, 37th Parliament


Issue 92 - Appendix

Tuesday, March 5, 2002
2:00 p.m.

The Honourable Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Speaker pro tempore


APPENDIX A

Bill S-34, An Act respecting royal assent to bills passed by the Houses of Parliament, received second reading and was referred to your Committee on October 4, 2001.

Your Committee heard from several witnesses on this bill. On Wednesday, October 17, 2001, the Honourable Senator Sharon Carstairs, P.C., the Leader of the Government in the Senate, and the sponsor of the bill, appeared before your Committee, accompanied by Mary E. Dawson, Q.C., Associate Deputy Minister, Constitutional Affairs, and Louis Davis, Senior Counsel, Constitutional and Administrative Law Section, Department of Justice. On November 7, 2001, Mr. John Aimers, Dominion Chairman, and Mr. Paul Benoit, Vice-President, of Monarchist League of Canada, appeared. Also, on November 7, 2001, Professor David Smith of the University of Saskatchewan testified before your Committee. On Wednesday, February 20, 2002, Senator Carstairs again appeared before the Committee.

In addition, your Committee has held numerous discussions regarding this bill and the underlying issues and concerns. Bill S-34 is very similar to earlier bills introduced by the Honourable Senator John Lynch-Staunton, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, which were also referred to and studied by your Committee.

Royal Assent — which is the final stage of an Act of Parliament and the formal process by which a bill becomes law — is given by, or on behalf of, the Sovereign after a bill has been finally agreed to by both the Senate and the House of Commons. The coming together of the three entities in a formal ceremony is an important part of the legislative process and confirms their respective roles and relationships. In the Canadian context, Professor Smith explained as follows: ``The time of Royal Assent is when the Queen-in-Parliament makes law. Then the representative of the Crown personifies the nation; the Senate embodies the federal principle; and the Commons represents the people through their representatives. One may dispute the description of the parts, but not the parts themselves, nor their inclusion in a manner visible to all.''

In Canada, the Royal Assent ceremony is conducted in the Senate chamber, to which the House of Commons is summoned. On behalf of the Queen, the Governor General, or his or her representative, signifies Royal Assent to the bills that are presented. The current Royal Assent ceremony dates to pre-Confederation colonial days, and was based on British practice. Canada appears to be unique among Commonwealth countries in retaining the procedure. In 1958, the Canadian ceremony was described in An Encyclopaedia of Parliament as ``that which most closely resembles the original.''

Other countries with parliamentary traditions have moved away from the form of ceremony used in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the Royal Assent Act of 1967 provided for a new procedure for the granting of Royal Assent in addition to the traditional means of doing so through three Lords Commissioners in a parliamentary ceremony: a written declaration that is communicated to each House of Parliament. In Australia, the usual practice is for the chamber that has initiated the bill to transmit copies of it to the residence of the Governor General; after the Governor General has affixed his or her signature, the assent is made known by Messages to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, who duly notify their respective chambers. In New Zealand, the Governor General has not attended in person to prorogue Parliament or assent to bills since 1875; rather, bills are presented for Royal Assent at Government House where the Governor General assents to the bill by signing the two copies presented and returning these to the House with a Message informing the House that assent has been given to the bill in the name of the Sovereign.

In Canada, the issue of Royal Assent and the procedures for signifying it have been discussed on a number of occasions over the last 20 years. In 1983, Senator Royce Frith, then Deputy Leader of the Government, tabled a notice of inquiry regarding ``the advisability of establishing alternate procedures for the pronouncement of Royal Assent to bills.'' He raised the question of whether there was a need for an additional and simpler procedure and, if so, what form it should take and what method should be adopted for implementing it. In 1985, the Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons (the McGrath Committee) recommended in its Second Report that the declaration of Royal Assent by written message be adopted in Canada, with continued provision for the use of the present practice should that be the pleasure of Her Excellency on the advice of Her Ministers. This proposal was echoed in 1993 when the House of Commons Standing Committee on House Management tabled a report on parliamentary reform.

In November 1985, the Standing Senate Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, chaired by Senator Gildas Molgat, presented its Fourth Report, in which it recommended that the present formal procedure of Royal Assent be retained and that it be used at the request of the Governor General or of either House of Parliament and at least once a session, for example at the prorogation of a session; but that, in addition to the present practice, a simpler procedure be established based on the following principles: (a) that the procedure involve representation from both the Senate and the House of Commons; (b) that it be public, and (c) that the declaration of Royal Assent be subsequently reported to both Houses of Parliament.

In July 1988, Senator Lowell Murray, the then Leader of the Government in the Senate, introduced Bill S-19 respecting the declaration of Royal Assent by the Governor General in the Queen's name to bills passed by the chambers of Parliament. As an alternative to the formal Royal Assent process, the bill proposed a system similar to that used in Australia for many years. Although this bill died on the Order Paper, the issue was revived by Senator John Lynch-Staunton in 1998, when he tabled Bill S-15. This bill and three subsequent versions introduced by Senator Lynch-Staunton have been considered by the Senate and its committees. Your Committee benefited greatly through the proposals made by Senator Jerry Grafstein in the form of draft bills brought to the Committee.

In connection with Bill S-34, your Committee wishes to make the following observations:

1. Your Committee believes that it is essential that measures be taken to enhance the public visibility and the constitutional and symbolic significance of Royal Assent.

2. Your Committee is of the opinion that the presence of both the Governor General and the Prime Minister for Royal Assent on those occasions where a customary ceremony is held in the Senate Chamber are elements in demonstrating to the Canadian public the paramount purpose of Parliament in its law-making functions and the public expression of the Constitution of Canada wherein the participation of the Queen and the two houses of Parliament are conditions precedent to the making of laws of Canada.

3. Your Committee believes that Members of the Senate should recognize the importance of their presence in enhancing the Crown in Parliament, as well as their role as representatives of Canadians in the legislative process. With respect to customary Royal Assent ceremonies and ceremonies for the written declaration of Royal Assent, the whips of the parties in the Senate should be encouraged to invite the following persons to attend: the sponsor of the bill and opposition critic, the chair and deputy chair of the committee to which the bill was referred, the movers of any amendments proposed to the bill, any other Senators directly involved in the passage of the legislation, and the Minister or Ministers responsible for the bill. The Senate should encourage the House of Commons to extend a similar invitation to those of its members involved in the passage of the bill.

4. In those rare circumstances where the Governor General is unavoidably unable to attend Royal Assent personally, in the view of the Senate, and in light of the separation of powers between the Legislative and the Judicial Order, it would be desirable if Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada were not to be asked to act as Deputies to the Governor General for the granting of Royal Assent, but that the Governor General consider the appointment of companions of the Order of Canada to serve as Deputies for such purposes, provided that no member of the Senate or House of Commons, or of the Cabinet, should be so authorized.

5. To further enhance the Royal Assent ceremony, your Committee believes that the customary ceremony of Royal Assent in the Senate Chamber should be televised and made available to be broadcast on television and on the Internet.

6. Your Committee believes that the customary Royal Assent ceremony should be held at a time which is more convenient for most Parliamentarians, and when attendance would be greater. Insofar as possible, provision should be made to give as much advance notice as possible of customary Royal Assent ceremonies and to ensure that no other parliamentary activities are scheduled at the same time.

7. In connection with the written declaration of Royal Assent, your Committee considers it desirable, depending on the nature of the legislation and the impact on regions of Canada, that consideration be given to the holding of such ceremonies outside Ottawa.

8. In order to enhance the educational value of customary Royal Assent ceremonies, efforts should be made, in collaboration with groups or organizations for young people and schools, to invite students and others to attend Royal Assent ceremonies.

9. Since the granting of Royal Assent is designed, in part, to give the public notice of a new law passed by Parliament, initiatives are essential to enhance public knowledge of the significance and substance of the bills being assented to by developing public education and communications strategies in order to educate the public. The Senate should ensure that the broadcast production of Royal Assent ceremonies include appropriate educational and informational segments about the bills being assented to.


APPENDIX B

February 7, 2002

The Honourable Jack Austin, P.C., Q.C.
Chairman
Senate Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament
Room 304, Victoria Building
The Senate
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A4

Dear Senator Austin:

We would like to express the government's appreciation to you and your Committee for the work on the consideration of the Royal Assent Bill, S-34.

Bill S-34 builds on over two decades of study in the Senate and in the House of Commons. It is supported by the leadership of both sides of the Senate. And it maintains the traditions of Parliament, while allowing for the modernization of the legislative process. For these reasons, the Bill's passage by Parliament is a priority for the government.

The government shares the Committee's view that the Royal Assent ceremony is an important tradition of Parliament and that measures should be taken to ensure that it remains a key part of the legislative process.

The government is prepared to undertake to maintain the ceremony's importance and dignity as an ongoing parliamentary tradition. To this end, we would ensure that the scheduling of Royal Assent ceremonies be set on a longer term basis and at times which facilitate public awareness of the ceremony and attendance by parliamentarians.

In this regard, the government would endeavour to schedule ceremonies at times when the presence of parliamentarians is not required at other events, such as committee meetings. This would enable as many parliamentarians as possible to plan to attend ceremonies and would highlight the completion of the legislative process, particularly for bills of particular significance to Canadians, Parliament and the government.

The government would also support any decision by the Senate to televise scheduled Royal Assent ceremonies. Such a decision would serve to improve public awareness both of the processes and of the institutions of Parliament.

At the same time, the government, and the leadership of the Senate, have indicated that Bill S-34 will also enable Royal Assent to be given by written procedure to bills, particularly where Royal Assent may be required on an urgent basis, and for which the traditional ceremony would be inappropriate given the late hour of parliamentary passage. In so doing, the written procedure will ensure that the traditional ceremony can be maintained as a special part of the parliamentary process.

We look forward to working with the Committee in order to ensure the timely passage of this important legislation by the Senate and the House of Commons.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Ralph Goodale
The Honourable Sharon Carstairs


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