Bill S-230 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Bank of Canada Act (credit rating agency)
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-230 amends the Bank of Canada Act to authorize the Bank of Canada to establish a federally incorporated credit rating agency corporation.
Bill S-230 proposes to amend the Bank of Canada Act to allow the Bank of Canada to establish a credit rating agency. Under the bill, the Bank would be required to create a new corporation within six months of the law coming into force. This corporation would operate as a separate legal entity under the Canada Business Corporations Act and would conduct credit rating activities. The corporation's shares would be owned entirely by the Bank of Canada. While the corporation would not be considered a Crown corporation or a subsidiary of the Bank for most purposes, it would be treated as a Crown corporation for audit purposes under the Auditor General Act. The auditors who examine the Bank of Canada's accounts would also audit the new corporation. The bill cannot come into force until Parliament has appropriated funds for its implementation.
- Amends the Bank of Canada Act by adding new section 36
- Requires the Bank of Canada to incorporate a corporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act within six months after the section comes into force
- Specifies that the corporation will operate as a credit rating agency
- Requires the Bank of Canada to hold all shares of the new corporation
- Clarifies that the corporation is not an agent of the Crown, a branch of the Bank, or a branch/agent of the Bank
- Specifies that the corporation is not a Crown corporation or wholly-owned subsidiary for purposes of the Financial Administration Act
- Deems the corporation to be a Crown corporation for audit purposes under the Auditor General Act
- Requires the same auditors who audit the Bank of Canada to also audit the new corporation
- Makes the coming into force of the bill conditional on Parliament appropriating funds for its implementation
- The Bank of Canada, which would be required to establish and hold all shares in the new corporation
- The audit firms currently auditing the Bank of Canada, which would also be required to audit the new corporation
- Parties who may use credit rating services provided by the new agency (though the bill does not specify details)
- Parliament, which must appropriate funds before the law can come into force
- The Bank of Canada is required to incorporate a corporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act within six months of the section coming into force
- The Bank of Canada must hold all shares of the corporation
- The corporation must carry on the business of a credit rating agency
- The auditors of the Bank of Canada are obligated to also audit the corporation
- The corporation is not to be treated as an agent or branch of the Bank of Canada or the Crown (except for audit purposes)
- First reading occurred on March 10, 2009
- The bill was at second reading in the Senate at the time of this summary
- The provisions of the bill come into force on a date or dates to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council (not yet set)
- The Bank of Canada has six months after the section comes into force to incorporate the corporation
- The bill requires Parliament to appropriate funds before it can come into force; the amount is not specified in the bill
- The bill may create ongoing financial costs associated with operating the credit rating agency, though specific costs are not detailed
- The bill text does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for failure to comply with the requirement to establish the corporation
- The specific date when the bill's provisions will come into force is not set; it requires a future order from the Governor in Council
- The bill does not specify the amount of funding that will be required
- The bill does not detail what credit rating services the corporation will provide or who will be eligible to receive them
- The bill does not specify the corporate structure, governance, or operational details of the credit rating agency beyond basic organizational requirements
- The bill does not specify the relationship or potential conflicts of interest between the Bank of Canada's monetary policy functions and the credit rating agency's operations
- As of the information provided, the bill is still at second reading in the Senate and has not received final approval
New section 36 is added to establish the framework for the Bank of Canada to create and operate a credit rating agency corporation
Source: Section 1 of Bill S-230; section 36 added to Bank of Canada Act
The new credit rating agency corporation would be incorporated under this Act
Source: Section 36(1) of proposed Bank of Canada Act amendment
The corporation is excluded from the definition of Crown corporation for purposes of section 83, meaning it is not subject to section 83 requirements
Source: Section 36(2)(c) of proposed Bank of Canada Act amendment
The corporation is deemed to be a Crown corporation for audit purposes under section 14, meaning it must be audited according to that section
Source: Section 36(2)(d) of proposed Bank of Canada Act amendment
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
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 Introduction and 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 Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Sponsor’s 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 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 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 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