Bill C-47 · 37th Parliament · Jean Chrétien
Excise Act, 2001
An Act respecting the taxation of spirits, wine and tobacco and the treatment of ships' stores
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedDec. 6, 2001
- Debated in principleApril 9, 2002
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberMay 21, 2002
- Passed the second chamberJune 12, 2002
- Became lawJune 12, 2002
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Jean ChrétienPrime Minister
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
58% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (76,216 words introduced, 74,599 passed).
substantial changeintent mostly kept
The bill received royal assent on 13 June 2002 with the short title section removed from the opening text. Minor adjustments also appeared in transitional provisions and section markers.
- Short title clause was dropped during passage.
Before: “Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Excise Act, 2001.”
How precisely it is written
mostly preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Moderate
The supplied text consists almost entirely of definitions that use chemical formulas, exact percentages, litre capacities, cross-references to specific sections and other statutes, and objective packaging or stamping requirements. A few phrases delegate judgment to the Minister or leave details to prescription.
Open to argument
“in the opinion of the Minister, would be a product under paragraph (a)”
This imports a subjective ministerial judgment rather than an objective test.
Clear-cut
“a container of a capacity of more than 100 L but not more than 1,500 L”
Numeric bounds create a bright-line test.“containing more than 0.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume”
Exact percentage threshold removes ambiguity.
Discretion. The Minister may approve formulations, prescribe grades, specifications, forms, manners of marking, and designate premises, analysts and warehouses, leaving substantial operational detail outside the statute.
Challenging the law itself. The definitions rely on objective criteria and cross-references rather than broad subjective standards, making a successful vagueness or overbreadth challenge under s. 7 of the Charter unlikely on the text supplied.
Disputing a charge under it. Most defined terms contain measurable thresholds or references to other statutes, but repeated use of "prescribed" and ministerial opinion clauses allows factual disputes over whether a particular product or process meets the regulatory criteria.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.