Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of April 26, 2022, moved:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order or usual practice, and without affecting progress in relation to Bill S-6, An Act respecting regulatory modernization:

1.the following committees be separately authorized to examine the subject matter of the following elements contained in Bill S-6:

(a)the Standing Senate Committee on Banking Trade and Commerce: those elements contained in Part 1;

(b)the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources: those elements contained in Parts 2 and 3;

(c)the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry: those elements contained in Parts 4, 5 and 6;

(d)the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: those elements contained in Part 7;

(e)the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology: those elements contained in Part 8;

(f)the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade: those elements contained in Part 9; and

(g)the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications: those elements contained in Part 10;

2.each of the committees that are authorized to examine the subject matter of particular elements of Bill S-6 submit its final report to the Senate no later than May 30, 2022, and be authorized to deposit its report with the Clerk of the Senate if the Senate is not then sitting; and

3.the committee to which Bill S-6 may be referred, if it is adopted at second reading, be authorized to take into consideration these reports during its study of the bill.

She said: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak briefly to Government Motion No. 34, which proposes a subject matter examination of Bill S-6 on regulatory modernization. Let me note that the motion before us is the result of consultations that were conducted with the leadership of all recognized parties and parliamentary groups in the Senate.

Colleagues, Bill S-6 is a broad, sweeping bill that covers immense tracts of regulatory terrain. It proposes to modify 29 acts through 46 amendments, and it applies to 12 government departments and agencies. Its scope is impressive. Naturally, we cannot burden a single committee with such a workload. The prudent course of action is to have the various sections of the bill examined by several Senate committees that can lend the necessary expertise to the study of the bill’s legislative dimensions.

[English]

Colleagues, this is not simply a matter of managing the size of the bill; along with accounting for quantity, we must also ensure we are positioned to conduct studies of the highest quality. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Woo, was right to define the scope of the amendments included in Bill S-6 as “both disparate and quite technical.” In other words, Bill S-6 covers a wide spectrum of regulatory fixes, which require the subject matter expertise of several committees.

Let me provide you with a broad overview as to the participating committees and the specific parts of the bill they will be examining.

The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce will focus on Part 1 of the bill entitled “Innovation, Science and Economic Development,” where they will review amendments made to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2.

The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources will study Parts 2 and 3 of the bill. This includes studying the proposed changes to the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act.

As for Part 3, the committee will study the Canada Lands Surveyors Act, the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act and the Species at Risk Act.

During the study of Parts 4, 5 and 6, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will examine elements of the Agricultural Products Marketing Act and seven different acts pertaining to the Regulatory Measures Respecting Canadian Food Inspection Agency. In Part 6, the committee will examine the proposed changes to the Pest Control Products Act.

The Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans will study Part 7, which contains the proposed changes to the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act and the Fisheries Act. The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology will attend to Part 8 and examine the proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade will examine changes to the Customs Act. Finally, the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications will study Part 10 of Bill S-6, which proposes changes to the Canada Transportation Act.

All of these committees participating in the subject-matter study will have until Monday, May 30, to submit and table their respective reports to the Senate. This will ensure that the committees have the appropriate time to conduct their work, establish their findings and carry out the deliberations that will help inform the bill’s legislative consideration as it progresses through the Senate.

[Translation]

Bill S-6, An Act respecting regulatory modernization, contains a range of practical, common-sense changes to address unnecessarily complicated, contradictory or outdated provisions that have been brought to our attention by Canadians and Canadian businesses. This legislation will help reduce the administrative burden on businesses, facilitate digital interactions with government and simplify regulatory processes by making them more consistent and coherent.

Again, I would like to echo the bill’s sponsor, Senator Woo, who elegantly summed up the bill in his speech at second reading when he explained how the proposed changes will make Canada’s federal regulatory system “more efficient and less burdensome, while maintaining protections for consumers, health, safety and the environment.”

Honourable senators, by having several committees study the subject matter of Bill S-6, not only will we be able to give ourselves the time needed to study such a very far-reaching piece of legislation with all due rigour, but we will also be making optimal use of the Senate’s resources.

In closing, I would like to thank the leaders for their collaboration in preparing this motion, and I want to thank in advance the committee chairs and committee members for their customary diligence and professionalism in studying their parts of the bill.

Thank you, meegwetch.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)