Bills

There are two main types of bills : public and private. In general, a public bill is concerned with matters of public policy, while a private bill relates to matters of a particular interest or benefit to a person or persons, including corporations.

Before a bill becomes law, it goes through the following stages:

1. a Member is given leave of the House to introduce the bill;
2. the bill is read a first time and printed;
3. the bill is read a second time;
4. the bill is referred to committee;
5. the bill is considered in committee and reported back to the House;
6. the House concurs in the bill at report stage;
7. the bill is read a third time and passed by the House;
8. the bill goes through stages in the Senate approximately the same as those in the House;
9. finally, the bill receives Royal Assent.

(source : Précis of Procedure, 5th Edition)