Introducing a Private Bill

A private bill is proposed legislation that affects a small segment of the public. It aims to obtain exclusive or special rights or privileges for an individual or a legal person.

Any interested person may request the passage of a private bill, including :

• heirs;
• executors (or "liquidators", as they are called in the Civil Code);
• property owners;
• groups with a common interest;
• municipal corporations;
• financial institutions;
• cooperatives;
• educational or religious institutions; and
• business companies.

• Purpose of a Private Bill
• Stages of the Legislative Process
• Notice
  • Content
  • Publication 
• Committee Consideration
• Fees
• For More Information

Purpose of a Private Bill

There are no specific rules as to the purpose or intent of a private bill. Generally speaking, a private bill seeks special rights or privileges for serious reasons. A private bill may, for example:

• amend, revise or repeal a municipal charter;
• ratify municipal by-laws or resolutions;
• amend the charter of a legal person;
• remedy defects in titles to immoveable property; or
• confer powers not otherwise provided for in Québec's laws.

Persons wishing to have their private bill adopted by the Assemblée nationale must submit the bill to the Law Clerk. They usually call on a legal adviser to act as their representative and help them draft the bill.

Fees involved in passing a private bill and having the mandatory notices published are payable by the interested person.

Stages in the Legislative Process

A private bill is introduced in the Assemblée nationale by a Member of the Assemblée nationale (MNA). The MNA does not endorse its content and may not approve its provisions. By custom, the MNA is not a Cabinet minister.

1. The interested person finds an MNA who agrees to present the bill, usually the MNA for the person’s electoral division.
   See the list of MNAs in office.
2. The interested person publishes a notice in the newspapers and in the Gazette officielle du Québec to let people know that the bill will be introduced in the Assemblée nationale.
3. The interested person provides the Law Clerk with the documents required for the tabling of the bill, namely :
   1. A copy of the text of the bill;
   2. Proof of the notices that have been or will be published;
   3. Any documents mentioned in the bill;
   4. If the applicant is a municipality or business company, a certified true copy of the resolution authorizing it to have the bill introduced in the Assemblée nationale;
   5. A written document from the MNA sponsoring the bill confirming that the MNA has agreed to introduce the bill in the Assemblée nationale.
4. The Direction des affaires juridiques et législatives of the Assemblée nationale reviews the bill and makes sure it has received all the documents required to table the bill. It also verifies that the notices are published as required by law.
5. An acknowledgment of receipt of the bill and of the documents accompanying it is sent to the interested person. The acknowledgment of receipt serves as proof of the date on which the bill was deposited.
6. The bill is sent to the government department concerned to inform it and obtain its opinion. The department or the Assemblée may suggest changes to the form or content of the bill. The interested person is free to accept or reject the proposed changes.
7. The Direction des affaires juridiques et législatives sends the Direction des commissions parlementaires the information it needs concerning the interested person and the persons who have expressed their desire to speak so that they can be invited to be heard when the bill is being considered in committee.
8. The Assemblée nationale translates, reviews and lays out the bill in anticipation of its introduction.
9. The MNA who agreed to introduce the bill has it entered on the Order Paper and Notices of the Assemblée.
10. The bill is introduced in the Assemblée nationale. It then goes through the stages in the consideration of a private bill, namely, introduction, consultation and clause-by-clause consideration in committee, passage in principle and passage. The interested person is directly involved only at the consultation and clause-by-clause consideration stage.
11. Once the bill is passed, it is assented to by the Lieutenant-Governor and published in the Gazette officielle du Québec at the interested person’s expense.

In 2023-2024 (see the note), the deadlines for depositing a private bill and any related documents with the Law Clerk are:

• for the fall sessional period: September 11, 2023;
• for the spring sessional period: January 29, 2024.

Note: Rule 35 of the Rules for the Conduct of Proceedings in the National Assembly states that for a private bill to be passed during a sessional period, it must have been deposited with the Law Clerk before that sessional period. Under Standing Order 19 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly, the fall sessional period begins on the third Tuesday in September and the spring sessional period begins on the second Tuesday of February. However, on April 25, 2023, the Assemblée departed from its Standing Orders to move the beginning of the fall and spring sessional periods to earlier dates. The deadlines to deposit a private bill have been moved forward accordingly.

Notice

Once the bill is passed, it is assented to by the Lieutenant-Governor and published in the Gazette officielle du Québec at the interested person’s expense.

Content

The notice published in the newspapers and in the Gazette officielle du Québec must

• have the following heading: "Notice of Introduction of a Private Bill";
• state that the interested person will petition the Assemblée nationale for the introduction of a private bill;
• briefly explain the nature and purpose of the bill;
• specify that anyone having reasons to speak to the bill must inform the Law Clerk of the Assemblée nationale; and
• be signed by the interested person or the interested person’s attorney.

Publication

The notice must be published:

• once in the Gazette officielle du Québec
• once a week over 4 consecutive weeks
  • in a French-language daily or weekly in the applicant's judicial district or, in some cases, in the district where the property affected by the bill is located; or
  • in a French-language newspaper in the closest judicial district, if there is no French-language newspaper in the district concerned.

Consideration in Committee

All private bills go through clause-by-clause consideration in committee. The following people take part in the committee sitting:

• the minister concerned;
• the MNA who introduced the bill;
• the interested person and/or their attorney; and
• the people who applied to be heard during committee consideration of the bill.

For the list of parliamentary committees

For more about

• committee sittings during which a private bill is considered
• parliamentary committees 

Once the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill is finished, the parliamentary committee reports to the Assemblée nationale. The report is put to a vote immediately, without debate.

Fees

Under the Act respecting the National Assembly, a private bill's applicant must pay

• the cost of printing the bill as introduced and, if applicable, as assented to, plus 15%;
• $220 per page and $110 per half-page or less, not counting the title page, for translation and proofreading; and
• $100 per page (calculated on the basis of the French version) for publication of the assented French and English versions of the bill in the annual Lois du Québec and Statutes of Québec.

Other fees are payable to Québec's official printer, the Éditeur officiel du Québec, for publication of the assented to version of the bill in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

For More Information

Contact the Assemblée nationale's Direction des affaires juridiques et législatives:

• Telephone: 
  • City of Québec area: 418-528-0020
    Toll-free: 1-866-337-8837
• Email: af.juridiques@assnat.qc.ca
• Mailing address:
  
  Direction des affaires juridiques et législatives
  Assemblée nationale
  Édifice André-Laurendeau
  1050, rue des Parlementaires
  5^e étage, bureau 5.49
  Québec (Québec)  G1A 1A3