Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Monday, December 13, 2021, at 6 p.m.

[English]

Senator Gagné: Thank you for your question — it’s an excellent one. I will certainly ask the government about the reasons behind this delay, if I can say that, and I will certainly get back to you as soon as I can.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of December 7, 2021, moved:

That, pursuant to section 3 of the Statutes Repeal Act, S.C. 2008, c. 20, the Senate resolve that the Act and the provisions of the other Acts listed below, which have not come into force in the period since their adoption, not be repealed:

1.Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, R.S., c. 33(2^nd Supp.):

-Part II;

2.Contraventions Act, S.C. 1992, c. 47:

-paragraph 8(1)(d), sections 9, 10 and 12 to 16, subsections 17(1) to (3), sections 18 and 19, subsection 21(1) and sections 22, 23, 25, 26, 28 to 38, 40, 41, 44 to 47, 50 to 53, 56, 57, 60 to 62, 84 (in respect of the following sections of the schedule: 2.1, 2.2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7.1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16) and 85;

3.Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Implementation Act, S.C. 1998, c. 32;

4.Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, S.C. 1999, c. 34:

-sections 155, 157, 158 and 160, subsections 161(1) and (4) and section 168;

5.Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, S.C. 2000, c. 12:

-subsections 107(1) and (3) and section 109;

6.Yukon Act, S.C. 2002, c. 7:

-sections 70 to 75 and 77, subsection 117(2) and sections 167, 168, 210, 211, 221, 227, 233 and 283;

7.An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, S.C. 2003, c. 26:

-sections 4 and 5, subsection 13(3), section 21, subsections 26(1) to (3) and sections 30, 32, 34, 36 (with respect to section 81 of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act), 42 and 43;

8. Budget Implementation Act, 2005, S.C. 2005, c. 30:

-Part 18 other than section 125;

9.An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to financial institutions, S.C. 2005, c. 54:

-subsection 27(2), section 102, subsections 239(2), 322(2) and 392(2);

10.An Act to amend the law governing financial institutions and to provide for related and consequential matters, S.C. 2007, c. 6:

-section 28;

11.Budget Implementation Act, 2008, S.C. 2008, c. 28:

-sections 150 and 162;

12.Budget Implementation Act, 2009, S.C. 2009, c. 2:

-sections 394, 399 and 401 to 404;

13.An Act to amend the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, S.C. 2009, c. 9:

-section 5;

14.Payment Card Networks Act, S.C. 2010, c. 12, s. 1834:

-sections 6 and 7; and

15.An Act to promote the Efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act, 2010, c. 23:

-sections 47 to 51 and 55, 68, subsection 89(2) and section 90.

She said: Honourable senators, today I rise in support of the motion on the adoption in the House of a resolution that the act and provisions of 14 other acts listed in the motion not be repealed on December 31.

I am asking the Senate to ensure that this act and these provisions, which have not come into force since their enactment, are not repealed pursuant to the Statutes Repeal Act.

[English]

Honourable senators, before I continue, I want to bring your attention to an email my office sent to yours yesterday. Since I cannot possibly offer all the details behind the Statutes Repeal Act and the provisions of 14 other acts in my allotted speaking time, my office has prepared a document explaining the purpose of the act.

The document includes an annex that lists the government ministries that have recommended the deferral of repeals, including the reasons for the recommended deferrals. I hope this will give both our new and seasoned senators a better understanding of this annual statute repeal process. This being said, let me offer the chamber some general information about this year’s Statutes Repeal Act.

[Translation]

Bill S-207, the Statutes Repeal Act, received Royal Assent on June 18, 2008, and came into force two years later. The act is an administrative measure that tidies up federal legislation by regularly pruning provisions that have not been brought into force within 10 years.

Section 2 of the Statutes Repeal Act requires that the Minister of Justice table an annual report before both Houses of Parliament on any of the first five sitting days in each calendar year. This report lists the acts of Parliament or provisions of acts of Parliament not yet in force that were enacted nine years or more before December 31 of the previous calendar year.

However, these acts and provisions can be saved from automatic repeal if they are brought into force before December 31 or if one of the Houses of Parliament adopts a resolution exempting them from repeal.

This is the eleventh annual report under the Statutes Repeal Act. It was tabled on January 26, 2021, in the House of Commons and on February 8, 2021, in the Senate.

Since the tabling of the report, the Department of Justice has contacted the departments responsible for the act and provisions listed in the report to verify whether they should be saved from repeal.

This year, some provisions of An Act to amend the law governing financial institutions and to provide for related and consequential matters will be repealed on December 31 by operation of the Statues Repeal Act, because the minister responsible has not recommended that their repeal be deferred.

The reason for the repeal is that these provisions are no longer needed and their repeal has no impact.

In total, 11 ministers recommended that repeal of the provisions for which they are responsible be deferred.

[English]

The Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Transport have each recommended a deferral of repeal for one provision of one act. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Minister of Northern Affairs and the president of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada have each recommended deferral of repeal for certain provisions of one act under their responsibility.

With respect to the Minister of Northern Affairs, I want to highlight how the first deferral of repeal recommendation concerns sections 70 to 75 of the Yukon Act. These provisions allow the Yukon government to appoint its own auditor general and cease to use the services of Canada’s auditor general. The Yukon government needs to establish a position of auditor general before these provisions can be brought into force.

The other provisions of the Yukon Act for which a deferral of repeal is recommended are consequential amendments to other acts that should be brought into force when the federal Yukon Surface Rights Board Act is repealed and the Yukon legislature enacts legislation in its place.

The Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and the President of the Treasury Board are each recommending a deferral of repeal for certain provisions of two acts each under their responsibility.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is recommending deferrals of repeal for one act. The deferral recommendation concerns the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Implementation Act.

Finally, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General are each recommending a deferral repeal for certain provisions of three acts under their responsibilities.

Now, the reasons for deferring repeal include: an external event must occur before the legislation can be brought into force or repealed, such as the coming into force of an international treaty or the enactment of legislation by provinces and territories; proposed legislation repealing, replacing or bringing into force the not-in-force provisions is currently under way; additional time is required to deal with matters currently being adjudicated; additional time may be required to obtain the approvals necessary for bringing the provisions into force or to complete regulations; additional time is required to complete the necessary policy work or consultations; and failure to defer repeal could have a negative impact on international relations, relations with Indigenous peoples or with the provinces and territories.

[Translation]

Once again esteemed colleagues, you will find more details about the provisions being repealed in the document that my office emailed to you yesterday.

The Statutes Repeal Act specifies that repeal deferrals are valid for one year only, and any act or provision whose repeal is deferred this year will appear in the next annual report.

We must adopt the resolution before December 31, 2021. Otherwise, the entire act and the provisions of other acts listed in the motion will be repealed on December 31, 2021, pursuant to the Statutes Repeal Act. If the resolution is not adopted by then, the result could be gaps in federal legislation. Repealing certain provisions could even cause tension between the federal government and the provinces and territories. It could also affect Canada’s international relations.

Furthermore, if the resolution is not adopted in time, federal departments will have to introduce new bills to address the gaps in legislation that will occur if these provisions are repealed. These bills will have to go through every stage of the legislative process, from policy formulation to Royal Assent. It is a long and costly exercise.

In closing, I am asking you to support this motion and vote in favour of the resolution that the entire act and the legislative provisions listed in the motion not be repealed on December 31 of this year pursuant to the Statutes Repeal Act.

Thank you.

Senator Gagné: I would.

[English]