The Globe and Mail reports this morning that the Senate will likely defeat Bill C-290, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sports Betting), which would allow Canadians to bet on a single sports event. While it is unusual enough for the Senate not to pass a bill that has passed in the House of Commons (eight times in the past 70 years and 133 times since 1867, according to the Globe), there are several other very unusual aspects to the situation. First , the majority of the Senate is now Conservative, like the House of Commons, so the defeat is not based on partisan politics. Second, the Bill passed the House of Commons unanimously, which indicates it was not controversial in the Commons. Thirdly, the Bill started life as an NDP private members’ Bill, and private members’ bills are rarely passed in the House of Commons. All in all a very interesting situation. For more information on the workings of the Senate, see: http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Senate/Today/laws-e.html.
