Originally Posted by "a330pilotcanada
Yes any Bill in first, second or third reading will die when the election writ is dropped.
Not entirely correct. Only in first or second reading. Second reading is used to send potential proposed legislation to a Parliamentary Committee for review and amendment. The Parliamentary Committees have represenatives from all parties. The process can be long or short, depending on the complexity of the Bill and the political sensitivity of the issue contemplated, and this is where the success or failure of the Bill is really determined.
It is in the Second Reading phase until it comes back on the floor at Third Reading for the vote to pass it into law. Although debate is allowed at Third Reading, debate at that point is usually short, if there is any at all, unless one of the parties truly opposes the legislation, which is not the case here.
So when this Bill goes back for Third Reading, it should simply be presented and voted on, given the fact that all parties have already indicated their support of the Bill and that the wrinkles in it are to be ironed out in Committee.
As of last month, the Committee hearings on Bill C-481 were set to be held on one day only in December, prior to the recess that occurs on December 17th, but other legislative agenda items delayed the Second Reading a couple of weeks to make the December Committee hearing dates impracticable. The plan now is for the Committee to meet for one day only shortly after Parliament resumes on January 29th to hear invited witnesses and to move the two planned amendments, following which it will go directly back to Parliament for Third Reading and passage into law. From there it will go to the Senate, where a similar vote is expected to happen in short order.
The only probability of this agenda getting derailed by a Spring election would occur if the Bill does not get back to Parliament for Third Reading prior to the vote on the Budget, expected in March. That is the only likely event to risk triggering a Spring election.
But even if that happens, given the previous all-party support for this Bill, it would likely be reintroduced in the next session and receive an even more rapid move through the House.