A public Act may also originate as a bill introduced by a member of the House of Commons who is not in the Cabinet. In the Senate, the distinction between Government and private members bills is less marked. Senators who are not members of the Cabinet use the drafting services of the Law Clerk of the Senate. The Government is not involved in drafting bills that originate with members of Parliament who are not in the Cabinet. However, departmental officials may intervene at the committee stage of these bills and may require drafters, jurilinguists and legislative editors in the Department of Justice to draft or review motions to amend them.
Private Acts confer powers or special rights or exemptions on particular individuals or groups.
They are passed by Parliament in almost the same way as public Acts, but the bills to enact them are introduced differently. In general, the Office of the Law Clerk of the Senate and the Legislative Counsel Office of the House of Commons draft the bills without any involvement by the Government. A bill may provide for the enactment of a new Act, as opposed to amending one or more existing Acts. The Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Program provides for periodic amendments to remove anomalies, inconsistencies, outmoded language and errors from existing Acts and to make minor corrections. These amendments are subject to different procedures intended to speed up their enactment.