Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Issue 1 - First Report of the Committee

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has the honour to table its

FIRST REPORT

Your committee, which was authorized by the Senate to incur expenses for the purpose of its examination and consideration of such legislation and other matters as were referred to it, reports, pursuant to Rule 104(2), that the expenses incurred by the committee during the Third Session of the Fortieth Parliament are as follows:

1. With respect to its examination of legislation:

Professional and Other Services	$ 0
Transportation and Communications	0
All Other Expenditures	528
Witness Expenditures	36,674
Total	$ 37,202

2. With respect to its Special Study on the DNA Identification Act:

Professional and Other Services	$ 0
Transportation and Communications	777
All Other Expenditures	0
Witness Expenditures	4,570
Total	$ 5,347

3. With respect to its Special Study on the production of records in sexual offence proceedings:

Professional and Other Services	$ 0
Transportation and Communications	0
All Other Expenditures	0
Witness Expenditures	939
Total	$ 939

In addition to the expenses for the examination of legislation and for the special studies as set out above, your committee also incurred general postal charges in the amount of $204.

During the Third Session of the Fortieth Parliament, your committee received 20 orders of reference, held 57 meetings, heard more than 130 hours of testimony from 267 witnesses and submitted 20 reports in relation to its work.

Your committee examined 14 bills, eleven of which were reported without amendment:

Bill S-215, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (suicide bombings);

Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts (Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act);

Bill S-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (auto theft and trafficking in property obtained by crime);

Bill S-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and another Act;

Bill C-23A, An Act to amend the Criminal Records Act;

Bill C-464, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (justification for detention in custody);

Bill S-12, A third Act to harmonize federal law with the civil law of Quebec and to amend certain Acts in order to ensure that each language version takes into account the common law and the civil law;

Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to the National Defence Act;

Bill C-21, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sentencing for fraud);

Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Criminal Code;

Bill C-59, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (accelerated parole review); and

Bill C-475, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (methamphetamine and ecstasy); and one which was reported without amendment but with observations:

Bill C-22, An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service.

In addition, your committee reported the following bill with amendment:

Bill S-10, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.

In addition, your committee produced 3 reports on special studies.

Your committee presented the final report on its study on the provisions and operation of the DNA Identification Act (S.C. 1998, c. 37), entitled: Public Protection, Privacy and the Search for Balance: A Statutory Review of the DNA Identification Act.

Your committee also presented the final report on its study on the use of electronic assistive voting devices for persons with disabilities, entitled: Report on the use of Assistive Voting Device for Persons with Disabilities.

Your committee also recommended the approval of the Parole Board of Canada's User Fees Proposal, pursuant to the User Fees Act, S.C. 2004, c. 6, sbs. 4(2).

Respectfully submitted,

JOHN D. WALLACE

Chair