Bill S-224 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and 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, 2nd 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-224 establishes time limits for filling parliamentary vacancies: 120 days for the Prime Minister to recommend Senate appointees, and 60 days for by-election writs in the House of Commons with voting within 60 days of the writ.
Bill S-224 amends the rules for how quickly parliament fills empty seats when members leave, die, or resign. For the Senate: The Prime Minister must recommend a qualified person to the Governor General to fill a Senate vacancy within 120 days after the vacancy occurs. This applies to any vacancy that exists when the bill becomes law. For the House of Commons: When a House seat becomes empty and a by-election is needed, the Chief Electoral Officer must issue a by-election writ (official notice) between the 11th and 60th day after receiving the warrant to hold the election. The voting date must be at least 36 days but no more than 60 days after the writ is issued. If multiple vacancies occur at the same time, by-elections are called in the order the Chief Electoral Officer receives the warrants. For general elections (not by-elections), the voting date must still be at least 36 days after the writ is issued, with no upper time limit.
- Requires the Prime Minister to recommend a qualified person for Senate appointment within 120 days of a vacancy
- Establishes a 60-day time limit (between days 11 and 60) for issuing a by-election writ in the House of Commons after the Chief Electoral Officer receives the warrant
- Sets the voting date for by-elections at least 36 days but not more than 60 days after the writ is issued
- Maintains the requirement that general election voting dates be at least 36 days after writ issuance
- Specifies that when multiple House of Commons vacancies occur, by-election writs are issued in the order the Chief Electoral Officer receives the official warrants
- Applies the 120-day Senate vacancy rule to any vacancies existing at the time the bill receives royal assent
- The Prime Minister (required to recommend Senate appointees within a set timeframe)
- The Governor General (receives Senate appointment recommendations)
- The Chief Electoral Officer (responsible for managing the timeline and order of by-election writs)
- Voters in electoral districts with House of Commons vacancies (by-elections must be held within defined time limits)
- Members of Parliament and Senators (vacancies in their positions are governed by these rules)
- The Prime Minister is obligated to recommend a qualified Senate appointee to the Governor General within 120 days of any Senate vacancy
- The Chief Electoral Officer must issue a by-election writ between days 11 and 60 after receiving the warrant
- The Chief Electoral Officer must issue writs in the order warrants are received when multiple vacancies occur
- Voting in a by-election must occur between 36 and 60 days after the writ is issued
- The bill was first read in the Senate on February 5, 2009
- 120 days is the deadline for the Prime Minister to recommend a Senate appointee after a vacancy occurs
- For House of Commons by-elections, writs must be issued between day 11 and day 60 after the Chief Electoral Officer receives the warrant
- Voting in by-elections must occur between day 36 and day 60 after writ issuance
- The bill text does not specify what happens if the Prime Minister does not recommend a Senate appointee within the 120-day deadline or what consequences may apply
- The bill does not define what qualifies as 'fit and qualified' for Senate appointment
- The bill does not address vacancies in the Senate caused by reasons other than death or resignation
- The explanatory notes indicate this bill was from 2009; the current status and whether it has been passed into law are not provided in the source material
- No enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or remedies are specified in the bill text for failure to meet the stated timelines
Voting dates for by-elections are now required to be between 36 and 60 days after the writ is issued, creating an upper limit where none existed before
Source: Clause 1, replacing paragraph 57(1.2)(c)
New section 13.1 requires the Prime Minister to recommend a Senate appointee within 120 days of a vacancy; Subsection 29(2) adds a 60-day time limit for issuing writs after a vacancy; Subsection 31(1) tightens the by-election writ issuance window from 11–180 days to 11–60 days; New subsection 31(1.1) establishes the order of by-election calls when multiple vacancies occur
Source: Clauses 2, 3, and 4
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
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We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
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We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Response speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at 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.
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