Bill S-215 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (vacancies)
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-215 amends the Parliament of Canada Act to require the Prime Minister to fill Senate vacancies within 180 days and to establish an order for issuing by-election writs when multiple House of Commons vacancies occur.
Bill S-215 makes two changes to how Parliament handles vacant seats. First, it requires the Prime Minister to recommend someone to the Governor General to fill any Senate vacancy within 180 days. This includes vacancies that already exist when the law takes effect. The person recommended must be fit and qualified for Senate appointment. Second, it changes the rules for by-elections in the House of Commons. When more than one seat becomes vacant at the same time, by-election writs (official orders to hold elections) must be issued in the order that the Chief Electoral Officer receives the warrants for them, rather than any other order. The bill amends the Parliament of Canada Act, which sets out rules for how Parliament operates.
- Requires the Prime Minister to recommend a qualified person to the Governor General to fill any Senate vacancy within 180 days of the vacancy occurring
- Applies the 180-day requirement to any vacancy existing at the time the bill receives royal assent
- Requires by-election writs in the House of Commons to be issued in the order the Chief Electoral Officer receives the corresponding warrants when multiple vacancies exist
- The Prime Minister
- The Governor General
- The Chief Electoral Officer
- Members and potential members of the Senate
- Members and potential members of the House of Commons
- Voters in ridings with House of Commons vacancies
- The Prime Minister must recommend a fit and qualified person to fill a Senate vacancy within 180 days
- The Chief Electoral Officer must issue by-election writs in the order warrants are received
- 180 days after a vacancy happens in the Senate is the deadline for the Prime Minister to make a recommendation
- For any vacancy existing when the bill receives royal assent, the 180-day period begins on the date of royal assent
- The bill does not specify what happens if the Prime Minister fails to make a recommendation within 180 days or what penalties, if any, apply
- The bill does not define what 'fit and qualified' means for Senate appointments
- The bill does not address whether the Governor General must accept the Prime Minister's recommendation
- The bill does not specify consequences if by-election writs are not issued in the required order
Adds new rules about how Senate vacancies must be filled and the order in which House of Commons by-election writs must be issued
Source: Sections 13.1 and 31(1.1)
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-215, regarding amendments to the Parliament of Canada Act on vacancies, successfully passed its first reading in the Senate on November 27, 2008, and is now at the second reading stage.
This record shows that Bill S-215, concerning amendments to the Parliament of Canada Act related to vacancies, completed its first reading in the Senate on November 27, 2008. The bill is currently at the second reading stage in the Senate. A similar bill, S-224, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
The Senate proceeded with the first reading of Bill S-215 and other legislative matters, alongside tributes and discussions on various national and international issues.
The Senate met on November 27, 2008. The sitting included tributes to former Senator Joseph P. Landry, remarks on the installation of General Rick Hillier as Chancellor of Memorial University, discussions about Special Olympics Month, and remembrances of the late Honourable Mario Beaulieu and Colonel Karen Ritchie. The Senate also heard tributes to HMCS Charlottetown for its service. Procedurally, the Senate held its first reading of Bill S-215, an Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act concerning vacancies. Several other bills were also introduced and read for the first time. The sitting included Question Period where senators discussed the economic downturn, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, government response to Quebec's concerns, violence against women, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Infrastructure Canada Program, and appointments to the Senate. The Senate adjourned until December 2, 2008.
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