Bill S-229 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (borrowing of money)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 3rd 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
This bill amends the Financial Administration Act to restrict the circumstances under which the government can borrow money without legislative approval and adjusts reporting requirements.
Bill S-229, also known as 'An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (borrowing of money)', proposes changes to how the federal government can borrow money. It aims to limit the situations where the Governor in Council (the Governor General acting on the advice of the federal cabinet) can authorize borrowing without specific legislative approval. The bill also modifies reporting requirements related to public debt management.
- Amends Part IV (Public Debt) of the Financial Administration Act.
- Restricts the conditions under which the Governor in Council can authorize borrowing money without legislative approval.
- Repeals section 43.1 of the Financial Administration Act, which allowed the Governor in Council to authorize the Minister to borrow money on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada.
- Adds a new section 46.1 that allows the Governor in Council to authorize the Minister to borrow money for refinancing purposes or to reduce liabilities.
- Replaces section 49 of the Act to change reporting requirements for the Minister regarding public debt management and future borrowing plans.
- Changes the timeframe for tabling reports on public debt management activities and plans in Parliament.
- The federal government, specifically the Governor in Council and the Minister of Finance.
- The Parliament of Canada (Senate and House of Commons) in relation to receiving reports on public debt.
- The Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- The Governor in Council's authority to authorize borrowing without legislative approval is restricted.
- The Minister is obligated to report to Parliament on public debt management activities and plans.
- The Minister is authorized to borrow money for refinancing or to reduce liabilities under specified conditions.
- The Minister may borrow temporarily (up to six months) to ensure sufficient funds in the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- The bill was given first reading on March 23, 2011.
- New reporting requirements under section 49 state reports must be tabled within 45 days of the Public Accounts being tabled in the House of Commons for the previous fiscal year, and annually for the next fiscal year.
- The bill deals with the borrowing of money by the federal government, which impacts the public debt.
- It may affect the government's ability to manage its financial liabilities and cash flow.
- No specific penalties or enforcement mechanisms are mentioned in the provided text for non-compliance with the proposed changes.
- The bill does not specify the exact circumstances or criteria that will be used to 'restrict the circumstances in which the Governor in Council may authorize the borrowing of money without legislative approval' beyond what is stated in the new section 46.1.
- The definition of 'liability of Canada' that the Minister may extinguish or reduce under the new section 46.1 is not detailed.
- The bill does not specify if 'legislative approval' refers to a specific act of Parliament or a broader parliamentary process.
Changes to Part IV of the Act concerning public debt, including the circumstances for borrowing money and reporting requirements. Specifically, it repeals section 43.1 and adds new sections 46.1 and modifies section 49.
Source: Summary, Sections 1, 2, 3
Removes the existing provision that allowed the Governor in Council to authorize the Minister to borrow money on behalf of Canada.
Source: Section 1
Introduces new authority for the Governor in Council to authorize the Minister to borrow money for the purpose of refinancing or reducing Canada's liabilities.
Source: Section 2
Modifies the requirements for the Minister to report to Parliament on public debt management activities for the past fiscal year and plans for the next fiscal year. The timeframe for tabling these reports is also changed.
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 textParliamentary Process
Bill S-229 completed its first reading in the Senate on March 23, 2011.
This record shows that Bill S-229, an Act to amend the Financial Administration Act concerning the borrowing of money, completed its first reading in the Senate on March 23, 2011. This is a procedural step where the bill is formally introduced to the Senate.
On March 23, 2011, the Senate completed the first reading of Bill S-229, an Act to amend the Financial Administration Act, and engaged in other routine proceedings and debates.
On March 23, 2011, the Senate convened. A significant procedural event was the introduction and first reading of Bill S-229, an act to amend the Financial Administration Act concerning the borrowing of money. This bill was introduced by Senator Lowell Murray and was subsequently placed on the Order Paper for second reading. The rest of the sitting involved various other procedural matters, including tabling of documents, notices of inquiries, and debates on several other bills and committee reports. There were also statements from senators on various topics and a period for questions.
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