The filibuster goes on and on
More than a month ago now, government House leader Bardish Chagger released a discussion paper with suggestions for changing the ins and outs of parliamentary procedure, such as devoting one day a week for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take questions in the House of Commons. Their political rivals were cool to the ideas. Then things got really, really hot. On March 21, the Conservatives and New Democrats teamed up to keep talking — and talking and talking and talking — to prevent the procedures committee from voting on a motion that would require them to consider the paper and impose a deadline on its study. Chagger says she wants to start a “conversation” over the suggestions, but those on the other side say they first want assurances the Liberals won’t push through changes without agreement from the other parties. More than three weeks later, the impasse remains and the tensions have been colouring many of the interactions between the Liberals and their counterparts. but also cuts down on the need for the government to use heavy-handed moves if it feels the opposition parties are slowing things down. Right now, the government can bring in hammers like time allocation to end debate, but it can come with a political price. Somewhat ironically, the ongoing fight over the suggested changes to procedure had the Liberals arguing they had no choice but to bring out that blunt instrument this week. The Liberals gave notice of time allocation on two bills they believed the opposition was stalling. That fight is expected to