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FederalPassed43rd Parliament, 2nd Session

Bill C-16 explained in plain English

An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021

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

Short answer

Bill C-16 allocates $26.1 billion to federal government operations for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, with specific rules for fund usage and adjustments.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament
Legislature / Parliament
Parliament of Canada
Session
43rd Parliament, 2nd Session
Bill number
Bill C-16
Full title
An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021
Current status
Passed
Latest event
Royal assent received
Last updated
Dec 10, 2020

Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd 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
Royal assent received
Latest Activity
Dec 10, 2020
Plain-language explanation

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

AI-assisted
Short Version

Bill C-16 allocates $26.1 billion to federal government operations for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, with specific rules for fund usage and adjustments.

What It Means

Bill C-16 is an Appropriation Act that provides $26,138,756,442 to fund federal government operations for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. This funding covers expenses not covered by other sources and is divided into two parts: $24,674,249,120 for regular operations and $1,464,507,322 for adjustments. Funds can only be used for specific purposes outlined in the schedules, effective April 1, 2020. Payments must follow a specified order, and unused funds lapse after the fiscal year.

What This Bill Does
  • Provides $26.1 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for federal public administration expenses not covered elsewhere.
  • Breaks down funding into two parts: $24.67 billion for regular operations and $1.46 billion for adjustments.
  • Limits fund use to specific purposes outlined in the schedules (e.g., salaries, program expenditures, capital projects).
  • Sets effective dates for provisions (April 1, 2020) and payment rules for adjustments.
  • Specifies that unused funds from Schedule 2 lapse after the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
Who Is Affected
  • Federal government departments and agencies (e.g., Canada Post, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation).
  • Ministers and officials receiving specified salaries.
  • Employees and programs funded by allocated amounts (e.g., public service training, accessibility standards development).
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • No specific penalties are outlined for misuse of funds.
  • The exact allocation for some entities (e.g., Canadian Human Rights Commission) is truncated in the text.
  • No clear timeline for when adjustments in Schedule 2 must be made.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Financial Administration Act
References section 37 for adjustments in accounts.

Allows adjustments to accounts for the fiscal year without additional payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Parliament of Canada Act
Mentions section 67 for salary calculations for ministers.

Sets salary limits for certain ministers, rounded down to the nearest hundred dollars.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act
References powers and duties of the Corporation.

Authorizes reimbursements for loans, grants, and expenses related to housing programs.

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
Dec 8, 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, Dec 8, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 8, 2020
Chamber sittings
First reading - Dec 8, 2020

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
Dec 9, 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, Dec 9, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 9, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at second reading - Dec 9, 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
Third reading
Dec 11, 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, Dec 11, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 11, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at third reading - Dec 10, 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
Dec 7, 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, Dec 7, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 7, 2020
Chamber sittings
First reading - Dec 7, 2020

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
Dec 8, 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, Dec 7, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 8, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at second reading - Dec 7, 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
Dec 8, 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, Dec 7, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 8, 2020
Chamber sittings
Committee report presented without an amendment - Dec 7, 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
Dec 8, 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, Dec 7, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 8, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at report stage - Dec 7, 2020

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

Step 5
Third reading
Dec 8, 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, Dec 7, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 8, 2020
Chamber sittings
Debate at third reading - Dec 7, 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
Dec 11, 2020
Royal assent, Dec 11, 2020
End of stage activity, Dec 11, 2020
Chamber sittings
Royal assent - Dec 10, 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

Yes
210
No
118
Abstain
0
Absent / Other
0
Final recorded House vote
Dec 7, 2020
328 representative positions are recorded in this official snapshot for this vote.
Sponsor
Jean-Yves Duclos
Liberal | Québec Centre
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