Bill C-41 · 39th Parliament · Stephen Harper
An Act respecting payments to a trust established to provide provinces and territories with funding for community development
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedFeb. 5, 2008
- Debated in principleFeb. 5, 2008
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberFeb. 5, 2008
- Passed the second chamberFeb. 6, 2008
- Became lawFeb. 7, 2008
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Stephen HarperPrime Minister
- Terry StrattonSenate · Sponsor in the Senate
- Jim FlahertyThe member states that money flow requires House authorization through legislation, indicating acceptance of the bill's process.
- The SpeakerThe bill is deemed passed through all stages without amendment as the motion is agreed to.
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
How it changed on the way
The texts have not been compared yet.
How precisely it is written
mostly preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill sets a hard numerical cap on total payments and ties provincial shares to an external trust document. However, timing and method of payment rest on the Minister's subjective view of what is appropriate.
Open to argument
“at the times and in the manner that the Minister of Finance considers appropriate”
Uses a subjective ministerial judgment rather than fixed dates or objective criteria.
Clear-cut
“in an aggregate amount not exceeding one billion dollars”
States a clear numerical maximum that leaves no room for argument.“The amount that may be provided to a province or territory under this section is to be determined in accordance with the terms of the trust indenture establishing the trust.”
Points to an external document with fixed terms instead of leaving allocation open-ended.
Discretion. The Minister of Finance alone decides the timing and manner of payments and the trust indenture controls allocation among provinces, leaving significant administrative discretion outside the statute itself.
Challenging the law itself. The enactment is a spending authorization with no direct limits on individual rights, making a successful Charter vagueness or overbreadth challenge unlikely.
Disputing a charge under it. The statute imposes no duties on private persons, so disputes would concern only internal government accounting rather than individual breaches.
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.