Bill C-61 · 42th Parliament · Justin Trudeau
Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Act
An Act to give effect to the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedOct. 5, 2017
- Debated in principleDec. 6, 2017
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberDec. 6, 2017
- Passed the second chamberDec. 12, 2017
- Became lawDec. 13, 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 bills that implement treaties, conventions, agreements or administrative arrangements bills. The following is a short summary: On 5 October 2017, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs introduced Bill C-61, An Act to give effect to the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement and to make consequential amendments to other Actshave expired, lapsed or otherwise ceased to have effect (Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Act), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-61 gives effect to the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement and makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
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
18% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (2,084 words introduced, 1,913 passed).
moderate changeintent mostly kept
The core purpose of giving effect to the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement remained unchanged. Consequential amendments were expanded to insert references to the new agreement into the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.
- Added reference to the new act in the Access to Information Act definition of aboriginal government.
Before: “the council of a , the government of a foreign state,”
After: “the council of a participating First Nation as defined in section 2 of the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Act , the government of a foreign state,”
- Added reference to the new act in the Privacy Act disclosure rules.
Before: “the council of a participating First Nation — as defined in subsection 2(1) of the First Nations Jurisdiction over Education in British Columbia Act —, the government of a foreign state,”
After: “the council of a participating First Nation as defined in subsection 2(1) of the First Nations Jurisdiction over Education in British Columbia Act , the council of a participating First Nation as defined in section 2 of the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Act , the government of a foreign state,”
How precisely it is written
mixedChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Moderate
The bill uses clear defined terms and specific lists but delegates most substantive rules to an external Agreement and grants wide regulatory discretion. This creates objective black-and-white elements alongside open-ended standards that invite argument.
Open to argument
“The Governor in Council may make any regulations or orders that he or she considers necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, the Agreement or other agreements related to the implementation of the Agreement.”
Subjective necessity test plus broad reference to unnamed agreements leaves scope open to prolonged dispute.“The education provided must, if practicable, be comparable to education provided by the public school system of Ontario”
Practicability and comparability are subjective standards without objective benchmarks.“to the extent provided by the Agreement”
Repeated cross-reference to an external document not reproduced in the Act makes coverage depend on unincorporated text.
Clear-cut
“comes into force on April 1, 2018.”
Fixed calendar date removes timing disputes.“participating First Nation means a band that is named in the schedule.”
Closed list in the schedule supplies an objective, verifiable test.“A First Nation law is not a statutory instrument for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act”
Direct, unqualified exemption eliminates interpretive debate on that point.
Discretion. Section 15 leaves the Governor in Council free to issue any regulations or orders deemed necessary, and sections 9-11 and 16 tie powers and schedule changes to satisfaction with Agreement procedures.
Challenging the law itself. The Act is largely framework legislation approving a pre-signed agreement with narrow operative provisions, limiting clear Charter vagueness or overbreadth targets.
Disputing a charge under it. Breaches would usually involve First Nation laws or Agreement terms whose exact content is not set out in the statute itself, requiring reference to external documents.
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.