Bill S-206 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (clean drinking water)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-206 proposes to amend the Food and Drugs Act to include community water system water as a regulated food and to allow for broader inspection powers related to drinking water sources.
This bill, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (clean drinking water), proposes to expand the definition of 'food' under the Food and Drugs Act to include water from a community water system intended for human consumption. It also allows for the inspection of places where such water is collected or accumulated, and from which contaminants might enter a drinking water source. Water systems serving fewer than 25 people or operating less than 30 days a year are excluded from the definition of a 'community water system'.
- Amends the Food and Drugs Act to include water from a community water system as a food for the purposes of the Act.
- Specifies that a 'community water system' is one that distributes water to 25 or more persons for at least 30 days a year.
- Allows inspectors to enter and inspect places where water for human consumption accumulates or is collected, or where activities promote such accumulation.
- Permits inspectors to inspect places from which contaminants may enter a drinking water source.
- Amends the definition of 'food' to include unpackaged gas, liquid, or solid articles.
- Amends the definition of 'collection' to include any activity that causes or promotes the accumulation of food.
- Amends the prohibition against collecting or storing food under unsanitary conditions to include the new definition of 'collection'.
- Amends the powers of inspectors to allow entry into places where articles to which the Act applies accumulate or are collected.
- Amends regulations related to the method of collection, manufacture, preparation, preservation, packaging, distribution, storage, and testing of food.
- Operators of community water systems (defined as serving 25 or more people for at least 30 days a year).
- Individuals and businesses involved in collecting, manufacturing, preparing, preserving, packaging, distributing, or storing food.
- Inspectors enforcing the Food and Drugs Act.
- Consumers of food and water.
- Owners or occupants of lands that are part of a watershed or where water for human consumption is collected or accumulated.
- Prohibition against collecting, manufacturing, preparing, preserving, packaging, distributing, or storing food under unsanitary conditions will apply to the broader definition of 'collection'.
- Inspectors have the right to enter and inspect any place where water for human consumption is accumulated or collected, or where contaminants may enter a drinking water source.
- The bill was given first reading on November 20, 2008.
- The bill does not specify new penalties, but existing penalties under the Food and Drugs Act would apply to violations of the amended provisions.
- The bill text does not specify the exact date the amendments would come into force.
- The bill does not detail the specific regulations that may be made under the amended sections.
- The bill does not define 'contaminants' or the specific substances that could be of concern.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance with the amended sections.
This bill amends the Food and Drugs Act. It expands the definition of 'food' to include water from community water systems and allows for broader inspection powers related to drinking water sources. It also amends definitions related to 'article', 'collection', and 'community water system'.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Bill
Amends the definitions of 'food' and 'sell'. It adds the definition of 'community water system' and defines 'article' and 'collection'.
Source: Section 1 of the Bill
Amends the prohibition against collecting, manufacturing, preparing, preserving, packaging, distributing, or storing food under unsanitary conditions to include the new definition of 'collection'.
Source: Section 2 of the Bill
Expands the powers of inspectors to enter places where articles to which the Act applies accumulate or are collected, or from which contaminants may escape into food.
Source: Section 3 of the Bill
Amends regulations related to the method of collection, manufacture, preparation, preservation, packaging, distribution, storage, and testing of food, drugs, cosmetics, or devices.
Source: Section 4 of the Bill
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill S-206, aiming to amend the Food and Drugs Act concerning clean drinking water, completed its first reading in the Senate on November 20, 2008.
This artifact describes the first reading of Bill S-206 in the Senate on November 20, 2008. This is a procedural step where a bill is formally introduced to the chamber. The artifact also notes that a similar bill, S-205, from a previous parliamentary session, had reached the stage of awaiting first reading in the House of Commons.
On November 20, 2008, the Senate held its first reading for Bill S-206, alongside other procedural business and debates on various national and international matters.
This record details the first reading of Bill S-206 in the Senate on November 20, 2008. The sitting included a silent tribute to fallen soldiers, welcoming remarks, discussions on various topics including His Highness the Aga Khan's Golden Jubilee, National Child Day, and the US Presidential election. Several bills were introduced and received first reading, including Bill S-206. The Senate also debated and considered several motions and addressed questions regarding economic downturn and government spending, seniors' concerns, public service wage negotiations, the role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and Employment Insurance.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced