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FederalDid not become law (session ended)40th Parliament, 2nd Session

Bill S-228 explained in plain English

An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act and the Bank of Canada Act (quarterly financial reports)

Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament
Legislature / Parliament
Parliament of Canada
Session
40th Parliament, 2nd Session
Bill number
Bill S-228
Full title
An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act and the Bank of Canada Act (quarterly financial reports)
Current status
Did not become law (session ended)
Latest event
Bill not proceeded with
Last updated
Nov 4, 2009
Sponsor

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.

Chamber
Parliament of Canada
Current Stage
Bill not proceeded with
Latest Activity
Nov 4, 2009
Sponsor
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

Bill S-228 proposed to amend the Financial Administration Act and the Bank of Canada Act to mandate the preparation and public release of quarterly financial reports by certain federal entities and the Bank of Canada.

What It Means

Bill S-228, if it had become law, would have required certain parts of the federal public administration and parent Crown corporations to prepare and make public quarterly financial reports. It would have also required the Bank of Canada to prepare and make public quarterly financial reports. These reports would have included comparative financial information, a cash-flow statement, a statement of revenues and expenditures, and a management discussion and analysis. The bill stated that these requirements would apply starting in the fiscal year following the one in which the bill's provisions came into force.

What This Bill Does
  • It would have required specific parts of the federal public administration, as listed in Schedules I, IV, or V of the Financial Administration Act, to prepare quarterly financial reports. These reports would cover each three-month period of the fiscal year and be prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles. They would need to include comparative financial information from the previous year, a cash-flow statement, a statement of revenues and expenditures, and a management discussion and analysis on significant changes or other matters. These reports would have to be made public within 60 days of the end of each quarter and tabled in Parliament. (Section 65.1)
  • It would have required parent Crown corporations to prepare quarterly financial reports for themselves and their wholly-owned subsidiaries. These reports would follow the same content requirements as those for the federal public administration and would also need to be made public within 60 days and tabled in Parliament. (Section 131.1)
  • It would have required the Bank of Canada to prepare a quarterly financial report for each three-month period of the financial year. This report, prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles and in a form prescribed by the Bank's by-laws, would include comparative financial information, a cash-flow statement, a statement of retained earnings, a statement of revenues and expenses, and a management discussion and analysis. The Bank of Canada would have had to make these reports public within 60 days and table them in Parliament. (Section 29.1)
  • It would have amended a provision in the Bank of Canada Act regarding the form of annual financial statements to also include the form of quarterly financial reports. (Section 4)
  • The bill specified that these new requirements would apply starting from the first fiscal year after the provisions of the bill come into force. (Section 65.1(4), 131.1(4), 29.1(4))
Who Is Affected
  • The federal public administration (specifically portions named in Schedules I, IV, or V of the Financial Administration Act)
  • Parent Crown corporations
  • The Bank of Canada
  • Parliament
  • The public (as recipients of the financial reports)
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Obligation for specified federal entities and the Bank of Canada to prepare and publish quarterly financial reports.
  • Right for the public and Parliament to receive these quarterly financial reports.
Important Dates
  • The bill stated that its provisions would apply to each fiscal year beginning with the first fiscal year after the section comes into force. The commencement of the provisions was to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, no later than eighteen months after the bill received royal assent.
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The bill was not proceeded with, meaning its proposed changes did not become law.
  • The specific content of the management discussion and analysis required in the reports, beyond its general purpose, could be subject to interpretation.
  • The phrase "first reasonable opportunity" for tabling reports in Parliament allows for some discretion.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Financial Administration Act
amends

This bill would have added new sections requiring specific parts of the federal public administration (named in Schedules I, IV, or V) to prepare and publish quarterly financial reports. It would also have required parent Crown corporations to prepare and publish such reports. The act would have also been amended to include the form of quarterly financial reports in its by-law provisions.

Source: Sections 1, 2, 4

Bank of Canada Act
amends

This bill would have added a new section requiring the Bank of Canada to prepare and publish quarterly financial reports.

Source: Section 3

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 text

Parliamentary Process

Step 1
First reading
Mar 3, 2009
Completed

We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Introduction and first reading, Mar 3, 2009
End of stage activity, Mar 3, 2009
Chamber sittings
Introduction and first reading - Mar 3, 2009

We don't have a plain-language summary for Introduction and first reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 2
Second reading
Jun 23, 2009
Not completed

We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Chamber sittings
Debate at second reading - May 7, 2009

We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Debate at second reading - Jun 23, 2009

We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 3
Third reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 1
First reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 2
Second reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 3
Consideration in committee
Not reached yet
Not reached

We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 4
Report stage
Not reached yet
Not reached

We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 5
Third reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

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

No published recorded division

This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.

Sponsor
Hugh Segal
Senator | Details not listed in current Senate roster
Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament

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