DCHP-3

private member's bill

DCHP-2 (Jul 2016)
n. — Politics

a bill introduced by a member of parliament who is not part of the Cabinet.

Type: 5. Frequency — Private member's bill is a preservation from the British legal system, which is used in many former British colonies and Commonwealth countries. Chart 1 demonstrates the prevalence of the term in Canada, which is possibly explained by the relative ease of passing these bills in the Canadian House of Commons. Before 1986, private member's bills could be easily "talked out" in Canada, meaning that a specific time was allocated to debate of these bills, and the time could be purposely wasted in order for the bill to not come to a vote. In 1985, the Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons made a report stating that due the inefficiency of the parliamentary system as it concerned these bills (see Parliament of Canada reference, "House of Commons Procedure and Practice - 21. Private Members' Business, Historical Perspective"). Amendments were made the following year based on the committee's recommendations, and since that time an average of about three private members' bills are passed every year (see Parliament of Canada reference "Private Members' Public Bills Passed by Parliament"). From 1986 to 2012 roughly 40% of all the 245 successful private members' bills since 1910 were passed, which is a considerable increase. By comparison, private members' bills in the UK have a much lower success rate, because, as was the case in Canada before 1986, private members' bills in the UK are often "talked out" (see Politics UK reference).
See also COD-2, s.v. "private member's bill", which is marked "Cdn, Brit., Austral., & NZ".
Some private members' bills have become important or highly symbolic pieces of legislation; see, e.g. the 1963 quotation.
Parliamentary practice adheres to the formal style of plural formation, including the placement of the apostrophe: one <>private member's bill, but several private members' bills.

Quotations

1914
In 1909 and again in 1910 it was reintroduced by the late F.D. Monk, as a private member's bill, but failed to pass owing to the government not giving time for its consideration.
1929
A private member's bill was passed in the Commons, enabling women to exercise all public functions, but did not go through the House of Lords.
1950
Dominion Day (July 1) is still Dominion Day. In a free vote of the Commons on a private member's bill to substitute the title "Canada Day" for the familiar one of "Dominion Day", the House by a vote of 73 to 39, decided to retain the familiar name for the national holiday.
1961
The passing of a private member's bill - the first private member's bill ever to be passed in the University of Alberta Model Parliament - highlighted the first two nights of the 1961 sittings, Monday and Tuesday.
1963
The bill he was referring to was a private member's bill to change Dominion Day to Canada Day. It was passed by the Commons in 1946.
1966
. . . a private member's bill [was] introduced . . . to declare the McIntosh apple Canada's national fruit.
1981
Sweeney (Liberal - Kitchener-Wilmot) has recently put forward a private member's bill to legislate the activities of cults.
2000
Women's groups and opposition parties at Queen's Park have been demanding that Ontario bring its labour code in line with the federal move. NDP MPP Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt) has introduced a private member's bill that would protect women's jobs for a full year. Clerical worker Melanie Medeiros of Kitchener, who is expecting a baby in April, said she and her husband planned on her receiving E.I. benefits to allow her to stay home with their child for a full year. News the Conservative government was not planning to guarantee her job protection angered her.
2007
In fact, it wasn't until 1994, when Kamloops MP Nelson Riis introduced Bill C-212, a private member's bill declaring hockey the national sport, that there was any serious consideration of the issue in Parliament.
2015

David Tilson Dufferin—Caledon, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-205, An Act to designate the month of June as ALS Month.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce a private member's bill that I had introduced in the past, which will designate the month of June as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, month. The bill will ensure that each year the month of June shall be known as ALS month.
The intention of the bill is to raise awareness of this devastating condition. I have a personal connection to this scurrilous disease. I lost my own father to ALS a number of years ago, so raising awareness and encouraging research are causes close to my heart.
All members know that one of our own colleagues has recently been diagnosed with ALS, so this horrendous condition is now very close to every member of this chamber.
I hope all members will support this initiative.

References

Images

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 4 Oct. 2012

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 4 Oct. 2012