Only 17 bills passed by Liberals so far

OTTAWA • Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have only passed 17 government bills since coming into office — a weak legislative showing compared to previous majority governments, including Stephen Harper’s.

Still, says Government House Leader Bardish Chagger, the Liberals have “an ambitious legislative agenda.”

Chagger’s emailed statement on her legislative ambitions focused on current debates around Senate amendments to a labour bill, debate around a budget implementation bill and future talks on marijuana legalization. “We will have more to say about specific bills in the weeks ahead,” she said on Friday.

Here’s a summary of Liberal lawmaking with six sitting weeks remaining on the House of Commons calendar (a number that could change at the government’s behest).

We’re omitting private member’s bills, which don’t originate from government ministers. Two of these have passed: the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act and the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act. More are on the docket, including an act to make the national anthem genderneutral.

WHAT’S IN THE HOUSE

At the nascent secondreading stage are 19 government bills, all but one of which (Bill S-2, on motor vehicle safety) also need to make their way through the upper chamber.

One of those is the budget implementation bill, C-44, which was being debated last week and will likely take precedence over others. Another is the bill that proposes to legalize marijuana.

Two bills are being studied in committee: one that makes changes to Statistics Canada and one that facilitates pre-clearance for goods and people across the Canada-United States border.

A law that would force corporations to explain themselves if they don’t have enough diversity on their boards of directors, among other things, is the only government bill at report stage, having completed committee study but awaiting third reading. None is imminently about to pass.

WHAT’S BACK FROM THE SENATE

Four different bills have been amended by the Senate and are to be looked at by the House of Commons. If the House rejects amendments, the bills have to go back to the Senate before they can become law.

Last June, the Senate sent Bill C-7, which changes RCMP union rules, back to the House. But the matter hasn’t come back up yet.

On Friday, the Liberals indicated they’ll reject amendments brought forward on one of their first law projects, Bill C-4, which reverses Conservative labour laws. Labour Minister Patty Hajdu said a Senate change that requires secret ballots rather than signed union cards would be bad for labour relations.

The Senate passed two more amended bills last week that the House will need to consider: Bill C-6, which repeals Tory citizenship laws; and Bill C-37, which amends controlled drugs and substances law to, according to Health Canada, “better equip” officials to “reduce the harms associated with drug use.”

WHAT’S IN THE SENATE

Seven government bills are making their way through the Senate.

One, Bill C-22 — the act that establishes a national security oversight committee — just got there and sits at second reading.

Five more are in committee, including the Liberals’ transgender rights bill (C-16) and the bill implementing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union (C-30).

Bill S-3, which is supposed to deal with sex-based inequities in registration under the Indian Act, has stalled for months after the Senate’s aboriginal affairs committee expressed its discontent.

Finally, Bill S-5, the government’s plain-packaging legislation for tobacco, just finished its committee report in the Senate.

WE WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT SPECIFIC BILLS IN THE WEEKS AHEAD.