The Senate

Therefore, honourable senators, in amendment, I move:

That the motion be not now adopted, but that it be amended:

1.by replacing the words “7 p.m.” with the words “9 p.m.” in point 1(g);

2.by replacing all the words in point 2(a) with the words “if, before this order is adopted, the bill has been placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at a sitting subsequent to June 16, 2026, at 6 p.m. or the end of Government Business, whichever comes first, on June 16, 2026, second reading be brought forward so that the bill be taken into consideration at second reading as the next item of business”;

3.by replacing the words “receives the bill and has not disposed of it at second reading by 8 p.m.” with the words “has not disposed of the bill at second reading by 11 p.m.” in point 2(b);

4.by replacing the words “8 p.m.” with the words “11 p.m.” in point 2(b)(i); and

5.by replacing in point 3(c):

(a)the words “9 p.m.” with the words “11 p.m.”; and

(b)the words “with provisions in points 2(a)(i) and 2(a)(ii) also applying to proceedings on Bill C-30”; with the words “provided that:

(i)if a vote on the bill had previously been deferred so that it would normally take place after the time provided for in this paragraph for the interruption of proceedings, that vote be brought forward to 11 p.m. on June 18, 2026, after a 15-minute bell; and

(ii)if the bill has not yet been moved for second reading, the sponsor, or a designate, be recognized solely for the purpose of moving second reading;”.

Basically, the amendment is being proposed in response to a request we received from the Independent Senators Group to extend the sitting hours so that there is more time to table reports and refer bills back to the other place.

In some cases, the time changes from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., which would add two hours to allow more time to produce the reports. The same applies to point 3(c), where the time is being changed from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. We were asked for more time.

When we discussed the motion amongst the leaders, I had already indicated that the government could show some flexibility in changing the hours suggested in the original motion. In response to the first request we received, we changed the hours to reflect all the requests we had received.

The amendment fully reflects the additional time requested by the Independent Senators Group, and all of this was discussed among the leaders.

I don’t have the text of the original motion in front of me, but basically we changed the timelines for each of the bills set out in the amendment: Bill C-25, Bill C-16 and Bill C-30. I can read the original motion and the motion in amendment. Basically, in some cases, we added two extra hours to the time allocated in the original motion before the bill must be returned to the House.