Bill C-18 · 40th Parliament · Stephen Harper
An Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, to validate certain calculations and to amend other Acts
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedMarch 9, 2009
- Debated in principleApril 3, 2009
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberMay 12, 2009
- Passed the second chamberJune 15, 2009
- Became lawJune 18, 2009
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
- Yonah MartinSenate · Sponsor in the Senate
- Serge Ménardcalls the bill a good narrow measure to aid RCMP recruitment and explicitly supports it at second reading.
- Dave MacKenzieExpresses pleasure in rising in support of the bill.
- Keith Martinhonours the bill for addressing inequities faced by RCMP members and praises their service.
- John McKaystates the Liberal Party will be supporting the passage of this bill
- Mark HollandStates general support for the bill and its measures on RCMP pensions.
- Jean Crowderstates the NDP is firmly in support of the bill
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.
What it set out to do
The following executive summary is available: On 9 March 2009, the Minister of Public Safety introduced Bill C-18, An Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, to validate certain calculations and to amend other Acts, in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. The bill makes changes to the pension plan provided under the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act. The key changes grant the necessary authorities to expand existing election for prior service provisions and to introduce pension transfer agreements. The expanded election provisions will allow eligible pension plan members to elect for prior service under other Canadian pension plans. The introduction of pension transfer agreements will allow the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to enter into formal arrangements with other Canadian pension plans to permit the transfer of pension credits into and out of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Plan.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
How it changed on the way
68% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (3,498 words introduced, 2,334 passed).
substantial changeintent mostly kept
The bill kept its core purpose of expanding prior service elections and enabling pension transfer agreements under the RCMP Superannuation Act. Changes focused on completing and clarifying coming-into-force provisions plus minor wording fixes in definitions and transitional rules.
- Coming into force clause was expanded to include additional references to prior amendments.
Before: “(b) clauses 6(b)(ii)(L), (O) a”
After: “(b) clauses 6(b)(ii)(L), (O) and (P) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Super- annuation Act, as enacted by subsection 172(4) of the Public Sector Pension Invest- ment Board Act; and (c) section 44 of An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Su”
- Validation clause on part-time service payments was retained with identical wording.
How precisely it is written
mostly preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill uses exact dates, numbered clauses, and defined terms to validate past pension calculations and add rules for service credits. It still leaves several details such as pay rates and eligibility classes to be set by regulation.
Open to argument
“fixed by or determined in the manner prescribed by the regulations”
Delegates the core calculation method to future rules rather than stating it in the Act.“a class designated in accordance with the regulations”
Leaves the scope of who counts as a member of the Force to regulatory choice.
Discretion. Regulations may set annual pay rates, designate classes of members, prescribe periods of service, and decide when elections can be revoked or have retroactive effect.
Challenging the law itself. The amendments are technical pension rules with no obvious vagueness that would engage section 7 or section 15 Charter claims.
Disputing a charge under it. Most provisions validate past calculations or set mechanical formulas, leaving little room to argue whether a specific computation complied.
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.