Though the Conservative government has used its new majority status to busily chip away at longstanding goals and campaign promises, only three major bills are expected to officially make it through the entire legislative process and become law this fall session.

The following bills are either expected to or have already received royal assent before the Senate rises for its holiday break.

  • Bill C-18: An act to reorganize the Canadian Wheat Board -- a bill that will eliminate the wheat board's monopoly in Western Canada, passed the Senate Thursday and received royal assent.
  • Bill C-13: A bill to implement the spring budget -- an act which increases support payments to poor seniors, extends children's tax credits for art programs and kills per vote subsidies for political parties, was given the go-ahead by the Senate and received royal assent.
  • Bill C-20: The fair representation act -- a bill that will see 30 new seats split between Ontario, Alberta, B.C. and Quebec went to third-reading in the Senate on Dec. 15 and is expected to receive royal assent before the Senate rises for the Christmas break.

Jane Taber of The Globe and Mail said the Conservatives have been pushing hard to pass legislation, but much of it will have to wait until the new year -- including their contentious omnibus crime bill.

"They had promised within 100 sitting days of Parliament to get it through and that has not gotten through yet and if you think about it, all this big push to get things through and only three significant bills through at the end of the day, really," Taber told CTV's Canada AM.

That doesn't mean the Conservatives haven't made major progress, however, since receiving their first majority mandate in the spring election.

That omnibus crime bill, for example -- which bundles together numerous justice measures that died when the previous Parliament fell -- is currently at the second reading stage and will likely pass next year.

The government also pushed through Bill C-19, the bill to end the long-gun registry which it had promised in the election. That bill is also expected to reach the Senate in 2012.

One of the Conservatives' tactics has been to use time allocation measures to limit the amount of time MPs can debate a particular bill.

That measure was used on the budget implementation bill, a law forcing striking postal workers to return to work, the omnibus crime bill and a number of others.

Earlier this year, two other bills made it through the legislative process.

  • At the end of November Bill C-22, an act that deals with land claims rights for the Crees of Eeyou Istchee on the Quebec shores of James Bay and southern Hudson Bay, received royal assent.
  • Bill C-16, which deals with the retirement of military judges act, also received royal assent at the end of November.