Amendments to the Content of Bills / Committee Stage

Amending Schedule

Debates pp. 3984-6

Background

In Committee of the Whole, Mr. Blenkarn (Mississauga South) moved an amendment to Clause 14 of Bill C-16, the Customs and Excise Offshore Application Act. Mr. Blenkarn's amendment read "That the Customs and Excise Offshore Application Act be amended in the Schedule on page 12 as follows: That tariff item 44002-1 be deleted." In moving his amendment during consideration of Clause 14, Mr. Blenkarn stated that he did so at that time because Clause 14 referred to the Schedule. The Assistant Deputy Chairman ruled immediately.

Issue

Can the schedule of a bill be amended by way of an amendment to a clause which refers to the schedule?

Decision

No. The amendment should be moved as a amendment to the schedule itself.

Reasons given by the Assistant Deputy Chairman

The clause under consideration, Clause 14, "...would strike out tariff items of a previous Act which we are amending... The amendment would be in order only when we reach the Schedule..."