An Act to amend the Statutory Instruments Act (disallowance procedure for regulations)

How it changed on the way

98% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (701 words introduced, 734 passed). A committee amended it.

transformative changeintent broadened

The introduced bill created a disallowance process only for the House of Commons with automatic deeming of revocation. As passed, the law requires both Houses to act, adds a 30-day notice to the regulator, and shifts revocation from automatic deeming to a duty on the regulating authority.

• Scope changed from House of Commons alone to both Houses of Parliament.

  Before: “The committee referred to in section 19 may make a report to the House of Commons containing only a resolution that a statutory instrument, or portion thereof, be revoked.”

  After: “a committee of both Houses of Parliament may make a report to the Senate and the House of Commons containing only a resolution that all or any portion of a regulation that stands permanently referred to the committee be revoked.”

• Added mandatory notice to the regulation-making authority before a report can be adopted.

  After: “No report may be made unless the authority authorized to make the regulation has been notified, at least 30 days before the committee adopts the report, that the com”

How precisely it is written

mostly preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Moderate

The bill sets fixed timelines, notice periods, and debate rules for Parliament to disallow regulations through committee reports and deemed adoption. Most steps use calendar or sitting-day counts and numbered limits rather than open-ended judgment.

Open to argument

• “a committee of both Houses of Parliament may make a report”

  Leaves unspecified which joint committee or how its membership decides to act.

• “any longer period that may be specified in the resolution”

  Allows the resolution itself to extend the revocation deadline without an outer limit.

Clear-cut

• “at least 30 days before the committee adopts the report”

  Uses a clear minimum notice period measured in days.

• “on the fifteenth sitting day after the report is presented”

  Fixes an exact number of sitting days for deemed adoption.

• “not more than one hour, during which time no Senator or member may speak for more than ten minutes”

  States precise time caps for debate and individual speeches.

Discretion. Ministers hold narrow discretion to file a blocking motion and to request the order of grouped motions; the committee controls only whether to issue one report per sitting day after giving notice.

Challenging the law itself. The provisions govern internal parliamentary procedure and impose duties only on regulation-making authorities, engaging no obvious Charter rights.

Disputing a charge under it. An authority could dispute whether the 30-day revocation clock started on the later of two adoption dates or whether notice was properly given, but the objective day counts limit factual arguments.

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.