Book Description

The Committee reviews regulations on the basis of criteria relating to legality and procedure, however, rather than focusing on the substance of the regulations or on the policy behind them. [...] Finally, the Committee's power to recommend disallowance is discussed.2 2 HISTORY AND MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE In 1968, the House of Commons Special Committee on Statutory Instruments recommended that a parliamentary committee be established to scrutinize delegated legislation.3 The government subsequently introduced the Statutory Instruments Act, which provides for either or both houses of Parlia [...] In addition to its statutory basis, the Joint Committee is empowered under the Rules of the Senate and the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.5 It is a matter of tradition for the joint chair from the Senate to be of the same party as the government, but the Standing Orders specifically require the joint chair from the House of Commons to be a member of the Official Opposition, the first vice [...] This approach had two important consequences: The first was that the Senate had no say in the matter, and the second was that [the disallowance procedure] only applied to statutory instruments made by the Governor in Council or by a Minister of the Crown. [...] In 2003, Parliament enacted a private member's bill to that effect, sponsored by one of the Joint Chairs of the Committee.14 This bill added section 19.1 to the Statutory Instruments Act, such that the power to recommend disallowance now applies to all regulations that stand referred to the Committee, and both houses must agree to a disallowance resolution for it to be effective.