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FederalPassed43rd Parliament, 1st Session

Bill C-20 explained in plain English

An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures

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

Short answer

The Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19) suspends time limits for legal proceedings and extends periods during the pandemic, with provisions for courts and ministers to adjust deadlines, while other acts amend tax, pension, and financial regulations to address pandemic impacts.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament
Legislature / Parliament
Parliament of Canada
Session
43rd Parliament, 1st Session
Bill number
Bill C-20
Full title
An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures
Current status
Passed
Latest event
Royal assent received
Last updated
Jul 27, 2020

Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd 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.

Chamber
Parliament of Canada
Current Stage
Royal assent received
Latest Activity
Jul 27, 2020
Plain-language explanation

AI-generated from official bill text; automatically checked and spot-reviewed.

AI-assisted
Short Version

The Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19) suspends time limits for legal proceedings and extends periods during the pandemic, with provisions for courts and ministers to adjust deadlines, while other acts amend tax, pension, and financial regulations to address pandemic impacts.

What It Means

The Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19) suspends time limits and extends periods for legal proceedings during the pandemic. Courts can vary or extend time limits for cases started before March 13, 2020, to September 13, 2020. The Minister of Justice can suspend or extend time limits under specific statutes and regulations until September 30, 2020. Other legislative changes include amendments to the Income Tax Act (e.g., deemed overpayments, disability payments), Pension Acts (e.g., superannuation adjustments), and financial regulations (e.g., import measures, revenue decline tests). These changes aim to address pandemic-related disruptions to legal and financial processes.

What This Bill Does
  • Suspends time limits for court proceedings from March 13, 2020, to September 13, 2020, allowing courts to vary or extend periods as needed.
  • Authorizes the Minister of Justice to suspend or extend time limits under specific statutes and regulations until September 30, 2020.
  • Amends the Income Tax Act to address deemed overpayments, revenue decline tests, and one-time disability payments.
  • Modifies Pension Acts to adjust superannuation measures and import-related provisions.
  • Updates financial regulations to include pandemic-related adjustments for revenue decline tests and import measures.
Who Is Affected
  • Courts and legal proceedings (due to suspended time limits).
  • Taxpayers and the Canada Revenue Agency (due to income tax amendments).
  • Pension beneficiaries and superannuation funds (due to pension act changes).
  • Importers and businesses subject to financial regulations (due to updated import measures).
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The exact scope of ministerial authority under the Time Limits and Other Periods Act is not fully detailed in the provided text.
  • The specific applications of amendments to the Income Tax Act, Pension Acts, and financial regulations are not fully outlined in the provided text.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19)
Suspends time limits for legal proceedings and extends periods during the pandemic.

Legal deadlines are paused or extended to ensure courts can manage cases during the pandemic.

Income Tax Act
Amends provisions related to deemed overpayments, revenue decline tests, and one-time disability payments.

Tax rules are adjusted to handle pandemic-related financial impacts, such as overpayments and disability benefits.

Pension Acts
Modifies superannuation measures and import-related provisions.

Pension and superannuation rules are adjusted to address pandemic-related financial challenges.

Financial Regulations
Updates revenue decline tests and import measures.

Financial regulations are revised to account for pandemic-related economic disruptions.

Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. Coverage is limited to the official text extracted for this bill version.

Official text

Parliamentary Process

Step 1
First reading
Jul 27, 2020
Completed

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

First reading, Jul 27, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 27, 2020
Chamber sittings
First reading - Jul 27, 2020

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 Debates of the Senate yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 2
Second reading
Jul 27, 2020
Completed

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

Second reading, Jul 27, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 27, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at second reading - Jul 27, 2020

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 Debates of the Senate yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 3
Third reading
Jul 27, 2020
Completed

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

Third reading, Jul 27, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 27, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at third reading - Jul 27, 2020

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

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

Step 1
First reading
Jul 20, 2020
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, Jul 20, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 20, 2020
Chamber sittings
Introduction and first reading - Jul 20, 2020

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 Sponsor’s speech 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 Response speech 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.

Step 2
Second reading
Jul 21, 2020
Completed

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

Second reading and referral to committee, Jul 21, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 21, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at second reading - Jul 20, 2020

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 Response speech 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 Response speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Debate at second reading - Jul 21, 2020

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
Consideration in committee
Jul 21, 2020
Completed

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

Committee report presented without an amendment, Jul 21, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 21, 2020
Chamber sittings
Committee report presented without an amendment - Jul 21, 2020

We don't have a plain-language summary for Committee report presented without an amendment yet. The official source linked below is the full record.

Step 4
Report stage
Jul 21, 2020
Completed

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

Concurrence at report stage, Jul 21, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 21, 2020
Chamber sittings
Concurrence at report stage - Jul 21, 2020

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

Step 5
Third reading
Jul 21, 2020
Completed

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

Third reading, Jul 21, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 21, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at third reading - Jul 21, 2020

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

Step 1
Royal assent
Jul 27, 2020
Royal assent, Jul 27, 2020
End of stage activity, Jul 27, 2020
Chamber sittings
Royal assent - Jul 27, 2020

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

We don't have a plain-language summary for Debates of the Senate 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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.

Sponsor
Bill Morneau
Sponsor party or district not listed
Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament

No published representative vote breakdown

The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.

Official sources

This plain-English summary is based on official legislative sources and public records. It is intended for civic education and is not legal advice.

How this data is sourced