Explanatory Note
At the start of every session of Parliament, the Law Clerk of the House of Commons is required, under Standing Order 153 of the House of Commons, to prepare a list of required reports and other periodical statements.
153. [List of documents to be tabled.] At the commencement of every session of Parliament, the Law Clerk of the House shall make available to each member, in printed or electronic form, a list of the reports or other periodical statements which it is the duty of any officer or department of the government, or any bank or other corporate body to make to the House, referring to the Act or resolution, and page of the volume of the laws or Journals wherein the same may be ordered and placing under the name of each officer or corporation a list of reports or returns required to be made, and the time when the report or periodical statements may be expected.
The Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House of Commons therefore prepares and publishes the List of Reports and Returns.
The List brings together in one convenient location reports and other documents that must be tabled in the House of Commons under federal statutes in force. It does not indicate whether a document has been tabled in a timely manner. It simply identifies the document until Parliament has repealed the statutory provision that requires it to be tabled.
Most of the documents are to be tabled by a minister. The List sets out each minister in alphabetical order based on how the minister is identified in the statutes. For additional information on a particular report, please contact the minister or other officer responsible for tabling the report.
For the convenience of Members of Parliament and other users of the List, we have also included documents that are to be tabled by various House officials, including the Speaker. The reports of the Registrar General of Canada are listed with the reports of the Minister of Industry because, under subsection 2(3) of the Department of Industry Act, the Minister of Industry is the Registrar General of Canada. All reports to be tabled by ministers and secretaries of State are grouped under the heading “State, Ministers of.” If a statute does not name a specific minister, the document is found under the name of the minister who is responsible for the statute according to the Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers.
The List includes two schedules. Schedule 1 sets out the reports and other documents that have been tabled under a one-time statutory requirement and that do not need to be tabled again. Schedule 2 lists the reports and other documents that have been tabled over a period of time but that no longer need to be tabled because the requirement is now spent. It also lists the reports for which the statutory requirement has been discontinued by order of the Governor in Council because they contain the same information as or less information than is contained in the Public Accounts or in any estimates of expenditures. For ease of reference, these reports and documents have been listed separately from those for which the tabling requirement is ongoing.
The information relating to each document is presented in four columns, as in the following example:
Canadian International Trade Tribunal1
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8560 5535
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Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act 6 R.S., 1985, c. 47 (4th Supp.), s. 42
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1. Relevant officer, government department or organization responsible for preparing the document
2. Description of the document to be tabled and its subject matter
3. When document is to be tabled
4. When document is to be prepared
5. Sessional paper number assigned when a document is first tabled
6. Title of Act (short title when possible) and provision under which the document is to be tabled
The sessional paper number is the number assigned to a document when it is tabled for the first time. To indicate that a number has not yet been assigned, the abbreviation “n/a” (not applicable) is used. When a number has been assigned, but some digits vary from one tabling to another, the letter “X” replaces those digits.
When a tabling requirement or a part of it is not in force, the entire entry, or that part, is shaded, as in the following example:
When a tabling requirement is not in force
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On any of the first 15 days on which the House is sitting after the Minister receives the report
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n/a
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Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Implementation Act 1998, c. 32, s. 27.1(2)(not in force)
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For information about reports by parliamentary committees, please contact the Committees and Legislative Services Directorate at the following address:
Committees and Legislative Services Directorate
131 Queen Street, Sixth Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Tel.: 613-992-3150
Email: cmteweb@parl.gc.ca
Any other questions may be directed to:
Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel
House of Commons
131 Queen Street, Room 7-02
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Tel.: 613-996-6063 or 613-943-2333
Email: OLCPCLegislationBLCP@parl.gc.ca
The List of Reports and Returns may be consulted at the following address:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/list-of-reports-and-returns