Budget bill is law after passing Senate

Second omnibus bill of 2012 session

OTTAWA — The federal government’s budget has become law after the Senate approved a second omnibus implementation bill on the last day of the 2012 parliamentary session.

By a vote of 50-27, the Senate passed the government’s budget bill Friday morning. The Governor General gave the bill, along with a host of others, royal assent during a short ceremony soon after the vote.

It was the last vote in a long few days in the Senate, which also passed a bill to combat elder abuse, a spending bill (C-50) and unanimously approved Conservative MP Harold Albrecht’s private member’s bill to create a national suicide prevention framework.

But left out of the voting was another private member’s bill that would allow for single-event sports betting in Canada. The bill ran into opposition from both Conservative and Liberal senators after major sports leagues came out against it, arguing that it could lead to players throwing games or shaving points.

Gaming industry officials say single-game betting already occurs in Canada as an underground industry. The bill would allow for better scrutiny of how money is being bet on sports and catch anomalies, they say.

The bill passed in the Commons with little debate, garnering sup- port from all parties in the House.

The budget bill, Bill C-45, includes changes to public-sector pension plans, a new electronic travel authorization system, pay raises for judges, and changes to environmental protection and reviews for lakes and rivers. The government argued the changes were needed to protect the economy.

The opposition tried to prevent or stall adoption of the bill, with MPs proposing 1,600 amendments, all of which were defeated by the Conservatives last week.