Bill C-30 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) Committee on March 28th, 2007

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

Okay.

Mr. Jean.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

The first session in the 39th Parliament extends to which period of time, just for clarification?

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

Not until the government prorogues the House or there is a dissolution.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Or until June, right? Or would it continue even to the next session?

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

No.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Okay.

I'd like to hear from the department. Is it possible, in relation to this? Does this proposal seem reasonable?

[Guylaine Roy]

There is--

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

It just seems that the timelines are very close as far as the bureaucracy we have to overcome in order to get it done in time goes.

I understand why Mr. Bigras is putting it forward. It has been some 25 or 30 years now.

[Guylaine Roy]

What I can say is that there are various ways to have an act come into force. There is proclamation. That is the way it is in the current legislation. Right now, in modern days, the way to draft doesn't refer to proclamation. It more often refers to coming into force by order in council, so that's another way. Or you have legislation that provides that an act comes into force in a certain time period.

So I think the proposal in the government bill was that the coming into force would be by order in council, by a decision of the government. What this would do is prescribe by law when the act would come into force.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

So in essence, if I can continue my line of questioning, if indeed the government falls, if the opposition brings us down, for instance, as they have anticipated in their speeches, this section would have to be amended before we could ever proclaim it in fact because it could never be proclaimed if the session ended. Is that fair to say?

[Guylaine Roy]

I'm just reading it. It says that after the bill is introduced, this act comes into force 30 days after the bill receives royal assent. So let's say Bill C-30 goes through the House, it through the Senate, and it receives royal assent; 30 days after royal assent the act would come into force.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

If it wasn't put through the House in time, this section would have to come back before the committee and be amended in order for it to actually take place, would it not? If the time period were passed....

[Guylaine Roy]

It depends on the receipt of royal assent. You have to go through all the steps--the House of Commons, the Senate, receive royal assent--and then the act would come into force. I think that's the intent of the amendment here.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

The English must be very bad, or else my English is very bad, because, quite frankly.... It reads: “This act comes into force 30 days after the bill introduced in the”--I would surmise that they're saying after the bill “is” introduced--“first session of the 39th Parliament and entitled An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Energy Efficiency Act and the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act (Canada's Clean Air Act) receives royal assent.”

I don't....

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

If I can just interject, it means it has to go through the whole process and receive royal assent. If Parliament is prorogued, if the government falls in the meantime, that's not going to--

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

I understand that, Mr. Chairman. My point is, I can't even understand what it's trying to do, because it's not worded....

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

Mr. Godfrey's keen here.

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Oh, I'm a real keener.

My understanding is that Bill C-30 modifies three acts, one of which never came into force, which is the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act. So my understanding is that the act that is referred to is the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act, which never was in force. The other two are in force. They're fine. But this one has to come into force to be affected by the Clean Air Act, Bill C-30.

Does that make sense? Am I close?

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

Madam Roy, is he close?

[Guylaine Roy]

That's the way I read it, that this act refers to the MVFCSA. It comes into force 30 days after the bill, which has three components, receives royal assent. For royal assent, you have to go through the House and the Senate, then royal assent. So 30 days after the royal assent of this bill...the overall MVFCSA comes into force with the amendments in this bill.

[The Chair, Conservative, Laurie Hawn]

Mr. Cullen is not ready for the question.

Mr. Cullen.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

There seems to be, as Mr. Jean has pointed out, some confusion, perhaps in the translation, as to what is being referred to as coming into force. I suggest we just take a break of a minute or two to understand which bill is being referred to as coming into force, so we know what we're voting for. Mr. Jean and others have expressed confusion as to what is being referenced as coming into the act...perhaps he now knows.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

I now know.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

He now knows.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

So you don't have to do it on my account. I'm prepared for the question if you are.