Pursuant to notice of December 3, 2025, moved:

That, pursuant to section 3 of the Statutes Repeal Act, S.C. 2008, c. 20, the Senate resolve that the Act and the provisions of the other Acts listed below, which have not come into force in the period since their adoption, not be repealed:

1.Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 33 (2nd Supp):

-Part II;

2.Contraventions Act, S.C. 1992, c. 47:

-paragraph 8(1)(d), sections 9, 10 and 12 to 16, subsections 17(1) to (3), sections 18 and 19, subsection 21(1) and sections 22, 23, 25, 26, 28 to 38, 40, 41, 44 to 47, 50 to 53, 56, 57, 60 to 62, 84 (in respect of the following sections of the schedule: 2.1, 2.2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7.1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16) and 85;

3.Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Implementation Act, S.C. 1998, c. 32;

4.Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, S.C. 1999, c. 34:

-sections 155, 157, 158 and 160, subsections 161(1) and (4) and section 168;

5.Yukon Act, S.C. 2002, c. 7:

-sections 70 to 75 and 77, subsection 117(2), sections 167, 168, 210, 211, 221, 227, 233 and 283;

6.An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, S.C. 2003, c. 26:

-sections 4 and 5, subsection 13(3), section 21, subsections 26(1) to (3) and sections 30, 32, 34, 36 (with respect to section 81 of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act), 42 and 43;

7.Budget Implementation Act, 2009, S.C. 2009, c. 2:

-section 394;

-sections 401 to 404;

8.Payment Card Networks Act, S.C. 2010, c. 12, s. 1834:

-sections 6 and 7;

9.Financial System Review Act, S.C. 2012, c. 5:

-sections 54 and 56 to 59;

10.Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, S.C. 2012, c. 17:

-sections 70 to 77;

11.Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, S.C. 2012, c. 19:

-sections 459, 460, 462 and 463;

12.Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, S.C. 2013, c. 24:

-sections 12, 13 and 46;

13.Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1, S.C. 2013, c. 33:

-subsection 228(2);

14.Northwest Territories Devolution Act, S.C. 2014, c. 2:

-section 47;

15.Safeguarding Canada’s Seas and Skies Act, S.C. 2014, c. 29:

-section 28, subsection 29(1), sections 31, 33, 35, 37 to 39, subsection 40(1), sections 41 to 49, subsections 50(2) and (5), sections 52, 53, 55 and 56;

16.Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, S.C. 2014, c. 39:

-sections 306, 308, subsection 309(1), section 311, subsection 313(2);

-sections 387 to 400;

17.Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, S.C. 2015, c. 23:

-section 32;

18.Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, S.C. 2015, c. 27:

-sections 10, 15 and 35;

19.Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, S.C. 2015, c. 29:

-section 2; and

20.Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area Act, S.C. 2015, c. 38:

-section 4.

She said: Honourable senators, please cast your mind back to November 1, Game 7 of the World Series. The excitement about baseball’s final game of the season was felt throughout this country. From Iqaluit to Old Crow via Tuktoyaktuk, from Campbell River on Vancouver Island to Twillingate in Newfoundland and Digby in Nova Scotia, the Blue Jays were Canada’s beloved team, and everyone was on the edge of their seats. It was the same rise-to-your-feet, sheer joy that was felt in Saskatchewan by Roughriders fans this year —

— and by Habs, Jets and Oilers fans in their playoff runs. There are probably a few old enough in this chamber to remember 1967 for the Leafs fans.

Honourable senators, I am speaking of sheer joy, excitement and anticipation felt by Canadians about their sports. It is the same anticipation senators feel about the motion on the Statutes Repeal Act.

Seriously, you say? Colleagues, I am serious. This motion is eagerly anticipated every year for a number of reasons.

This motion, brought forward at the end of the calendar year, before we rise for the holiday season, is carefully and joyfully examined by senators. It represents a commitment to recognize and build upon the work of previous colleagues.

For those senators without longevity in our chamber, in 2001, a constituent brought forward to the then Alberta senator Tommy Banks the question of why the Canadian Heritage Languages Institute Act had never been brought into force. To Senator Banks’ amazement, there were several acts of Parliament that had never come into force, and he brought forward Bill S-12, the first of many Statutes Repeal Bills. As newer senators are realizing, it can take several tries to get an S-bill adopted. Bill S-12 became Bill S-11, and so on, until Bill S-207 finally received Royal Assent in 2008. It was not proclaimed until 2010.

The essence of the act requires that at the start of every calendar year, the Minister of Justice tables before us and the other place a report listing every act or provision that was assented to nine years earlier or more on the preceding December 31 — in effect, 10 years. All acts or sections of acts in the report will then be automatically repealed on December 31 of that year, unless they are either brought into force or repealed before that date. These acts or sections of acts can be kept on the books for another year if a resolution is adopted by either house of Parliament to defer their repeal. That is the motion we have before us today.

We have this motion at the eleventh hour, fairly close to December 31, as throughout the year, there are ongoing engagement and work with officials and affected parties to ensure appropriate proclamation, repeal or deferral of repeal.

Honourable senators, I refer to this as some of the hard work of government. Perhaps a better description is the time-consuming attention to detail that is often overlooked. In the case of statutes’ repeal, it is dusting off the cobwebs or — in modern parlance — relocating the dust bunnies that seem to collect on legislation, ensuring the law remains fit for purpose.

Annually greeted with enthusiasm by all senators, this motion especially caught my eye when I first arrived in the Senate. Newer senators will recall the advice they are given upon arrival here: Information flow in the Senate is like drinking from a firehose.

Busy on the Finance Committee when Senator Bellemare brought forward this motion in June 2019, which was an unusual time of year due to the expected dissolution that was soon to follow, I recognized a reference to the legislative provisions of the Devolution Transfer Agreement with Yukon, an agreement that I had helped to negotiate. I asked a question, which was not a common occurrence at that time of year, on one of the last motions under debate. The Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut “constitutions” are regular acts of Parliament and are often referred to in the statutes repeal motion.

Credit must be given to former Nunavut senator Dennis Patterson and the Canadian Senators Group, who were instrumental in ensuring the Senate give truly sober second thought to this motion and the acts that are being deferred. Thanks to their efforts, for the past three years, this motion has been referred to our Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for detailed review.

Honourable senators, the review is truly thorough and detailed. I would like to offer my thanks to all members of the committee for their work this year. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of all senators for this work, especially to the officials who came before the committee. There are a significant number of officials who are called upon to provide information, and, having attended the committee meetings, their answers to members’ questions were thoughtful, straightforward and greatly appreciated.

Moving now to speak briefly to the more exciting details contained in this year’s motion, I ask for your support for this resolution before December 31 to defer the repeal of one act and the provisions of 19 other acts that are listed in the motion.

I am asking the Senate to resolve that this act and these provisions, which have not come into force since they were enacted, not be repealed by operation of the Statutes Repeal Act.

The fifteenth Annual Report on the Statutes Repeal Act was tabled on May 28, 2025, in both houses of Parliament. This was in compliance with section 2 of the act. Following the tabling of the report, the Department of Justice contacted the departments responsible for the act and provisions listed in the report to verify whether their repeal should be deferred.

This year, certain provisions of seven acts will be repealed on December 31 by operation of the Statutes Repeal Act because the responsible ministers have not recommended that their repeal be deferred.

Thirteen ministers have recommended the deferral of repeal of one complete act and provisions of 19 other acts for which they are responsible.

The deferrals can be sought due to a number of reasons. Here are some examples: An external event must occur before the legislation can be brought into force or repealed, such as the coming into force of an international treaty or the enactment of legislation by the provinces and territories; proposed legislation repealing, replacing or bringing into force the not-in-force provisions is currently under way; matters currently being adjudicated must be dealt with; approvals are necessary for bringing the provisions into force or complete regulations; necessary policy work or consultations have to be completed. These are all reasons why these provisions come before us.

The repeal of certain provisions could also cause tension between the federal government and the provinces and territories and affect Canada’s international relations.

Honourable senators, before I go further, I want to bring to your attention that there was a background document my office shared with all senators. Since my allocated speaking time is limited, the background document explains the purpose of the Statutes Repeal Act and includes an annex that lists the measures for which deferral of repeal is recommended, including the reasons for the recommended deferrals. I hope this document will give both new and seasoned senators a better understanding of this annual statute repeal process.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is recommending the deferral of repeal of one complete act, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test‑Ban Treaty Implementation Act. Officials from the department informed the committee that the coming into force of this act depends on actions of other countries either by signing the agreement or by a ratification process. Canada is not dragging its feet or signalling a change in policy. We are simply waiting on others.

The Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages; the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature; the Minister of Jobs and Families; the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada; the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs; and the Minister of Public Safety are each recommending the deferral of repeal for certain provisions of one act under their responsibility.

Honourable senators will recall that I mentioned Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut were created by acts of Parliament. Paragraph 5 of this motion makes reference to several sections of the Yukon Act. Many of these sections mention the Auditor General of Yukon. The Yukon, however, continues to make use of the Auditor General of Canada. We’ve not appointed our own auditor general. Utilizing resources and expertise already in place is being part of the Canadian family. These sections are not enforced and have not been enforced since the act received Royal Assent in 2002.

The territories work hard to have the tools necessary to operate as governments, in the case of the Yukon in government-to-government-to-government relations with First Nations Peoples.

There are some situations where we don’t quite have all the tools in place and borrow from Canada, such as with respect to the Auditor General. It’s important to the Yukon to maintain this relationship.

The Ministers of Finance, National Revenue and National Defence, as well as the President of the Treasury Board, have each recommended the deferral of repeal for certain provisions of these three acts under their responsibility.

The Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons has recommended deferral of repeal for certain provisions of four acts under his responsibility.

Since the repeal deferrals are valid for one year, any act or provision whose repeal is deferred this year will appear again next year in the annual report, unless the responsible minister is confident the repeal will not cause any unintended negative consequences, it comes into force before then or is repealed by the adoption of another bill to that effect.

As I said, it is important that the resolution be adopted before December 31, 2025; otherwise, the act, and the provisions of other acts listed in the motion, will be automatically repealed by operation of the Statutes Repeals Act. This could lead to inconsistency or gaps in federal legislation, which would need to be corrected through the introduction of a new bill.

Going through the complete legislative process from policy development to legislative drafting in both official languages — and in the case of Nunavut also Inuktitut — to Royal Assent may prove problematic, especially if the needed legislated fix is of an urgent nature.

The committee’s report on the measures found in this motion, as well as that of the seven to be repealed this year, ensures we have expectations to have officials justify the need for referral.

Honourable senators, I want to again express my sincere thanks to the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs for their good work and for asking pertinent and direct questions to officials — whom I have been told are becoming more accustomed to this process and have therefore improved the quality of answers and justifications provided. I thank them for their report, which includes a very key recommendation: that a list of information is to be provided by each department, to the extent it is available, in order to further improve this process for the good of Canadians.

The committee’s report also includes a very important request to Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees Canada for a progress report within six months on the continuing study of the issues related to the coming into force of section 2 of An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Act, the Civil Marriages Act and the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

In conclusion, I’m asking you to support the motion and vote in favour of a resolution that the act and provisions of other acts listed in the motion not be repealed on December 31, 2025, by application of the Statutes Repeal Act.

Just as we are looking forward to the next season and the playoffs, I’m certain that all my colleagues here today are eager to hear what we find in next year’s Statutes Repeal Act and the committee report on it.

I am also conscious, Your Honour, of the time and standing between honourable senators and sustenance. Thank you very much for your time and attention, colleagues. Shä̀w níthän.Mähsi’cho.Kwä`nä`schis.