Bill C-60 · 42th Parliament · Justin Trudeau
Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017
An Act to correct certain anomalies, inconsistencies and errors and to deal with other matters of a non-controversial and uncomplicated nature in the Statutes of Canada and to repeal certain Acts and provisions that have expired, lapsed or otherwise ceased to have effect
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedOct. 3, 2017
- Debated in principleOct. 20, 2017
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberOct. 20, 2017
- Passed the second chamberDec. 5, 2017
- Became lawDec. 11, 2017
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Justin TrudeauPrime 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.
What it set out to do
The Library of Parliament does not prepare Legislative Summaries for self-explanatory measures. The following is a short summary: On 3 October 2017, the Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-60, An Act to correct certain anomalies, inconsistencies and errors and to deal with other matters of a non-controversial and uncomplicated nature in the Statutes of Canada and to repeal certain Acts and provisions that have expired, lapsed or otherwise ceased to have effect (Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-60 is the 12th in a series of bills introduced under the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment (MSLA) Program. It amends 41 Acts to correct grammatical, spelling, terminological, typographical and cross-referencing errors, update archaic wording and correct discrepancies between the two language versions. It also updates the names of certain organizations, for example, “Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants” is replaced with “Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada”. Finally, it contains amendments repealing eight Acts that no longer have any application, for example, the Maintenance of Ports Operations A…
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
11% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (7,674 words introduced, 7,647 passed).
minor changeintent mostly kept
The bill passed with only minor typographical and formatting adjustments across several provisions. These consisted of spacing fixes, punctuation tweaks and small reordering of statutory references.
- Statutory reference reordered for clarity.
Before: “Part I of the , or Corrections and Conditional Release Act R.S., c.”
After: “Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act , or R.S., c.”
How precisely it is written
mostly preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill uses narrow, objective criteria and fixed timelines to limit its own scope and most amendments consist of renumbering, term replacements and cross-reference fixes. A few retained provisions grant ministers subjective judgment on safety or interest tests.
Open to argument
“if the Minister considers that it is in the interest of safety”
Subjective ministerial opinion replaces an objective standard.“could be the subject of an order under any of sections 75 to 77, 79, 81, 84 or 90.1”
Forward-looking possibility test invites argument over future applicability.
Clear-cut
“not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence”
Clear negative prohibition with defined categories.“within five days after the day the certificate mentioned in paragraph (b.1) is issued”
Fixed numeric deadline tied to a specific document.“wages includes salaries, commissions, compensation for services rendered, vacation pay, termination pay, severance pay and any other amounts prescribed by regulation”
Exhaustive list plus regulation-making power for additions.
Discretion. The Minister of Transport retains power to order notices of non-compliance whenever the Minister considers it in the interest of safety; committees may block any amendment by single-member objection.
Challenging the law itself. The bill makes only corrective, non-substantive changes and contains no new offences or rights-impairing language that would readily engage Charter vagueness or overbreadth doctrines.
Disputing a charge under it. Most operative provisions are renumbering or wording fixes; the few substantive rules use fixed days, defined lists and cross-references that leave little room for factual dispute.
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.