Liberals securing support to pause

Government seeks September resumption

OTTAWA • The federal Liberals were working Tuesday toward securing the votes their minority government needed to push aside the full powers of the House of Commons and leave Parliament on the sidelines until September.

The House of Commons was still debating the Liberals’ proposal as of press time, but government sources confirmed they expected the bill, which would offer only a slimmed-down version of House activities through the summer, would pass with the support of the NDP.

Some MPS will still sit in Ottawa four days a week well into June as part of a special COVID-19 committee that will include multiple hours of questions on the pandemic from opposition leaders directed at the government. In addition to those in the chamber, MPS from across the country will be able to take part via video conference, with large screens set up inside the House of Commons.

But the committee does not come with the full powers MPS normally enjoy. Opposition days, where the other parties are able to set the agenda, would be postponed until September, as would any private member’s bills.

MPS would also not be able to post order-paper questions, written inquiries that the government must respond to within 45 days. The questions are a tool opposition parties can use to demand more fulsome responses than they might receive during question period.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said that the COVID-19 committee was simply no substitute for a fully functioning Parliament.

“Parliament must meet. Its role and its place are fundamental. This House, our elected legislature, is the beating heart of our democratic government,” he said when debate began on the measure on Monday. “This house is an essential service to the country and we its members are essential workers.”

The Liberal proposal does broaden the scope of the COVID-19 committee by allowing MPS to ask about any other matters, whereas previously the focus had been solely on the pandemic. This prevented the Conservatives, for example, from asking questions about renovations recently done at Harrington Lake, the prime minister’s official summer residence.

The committee will also meet four times in the summer. Before the pandemic, the House of Commons was set to rise in late June and not return until late September.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the committee has allowed democracy to function while the crisis continues and he believes adding an additional day will be beneficial.

“We’ve had three days a week of sessions where the opposition can bring forward their questions, make their suggestions and demonstrate to all Canadians that our institutions continue to function,” he said. “We know that continuing that approach now four days a week will be important to continue to respond to this extraordinary challenge of our time.”

The Liberals have said their concern with a full Parliament is that members across the country would not be able to participate. The House of Commons has no provision for proxy voting or casting votes electronically, requiring members to be personally in the chamber for every vote cast.

Trudeau said until the House of Commons rules can be changed to allow for some form of remote voting, a full parliament cannot resume.

“Before we move forward on voting, we want to try to make sure as much as possible that we are able to bring in remote voting,” he said.

THIS HOUSE IS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY AND WE ITS MEMBERS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS.