Conversion therapy and online bills in doubt
Senate likely to dig in heels on fast-tracking
OTTAWA • Despite a push by the Liberals to get a batch of government bills through the House of Commons before it adjourned for the summer, only two of them appear likely to pass the Senate before it rises next week — meaning everything else could be imperilled by a summer or fall election.
Leaders of the various Senate caucuses met Tuesday night to hammer out an agreement for when the Senate would wrap up its spring sitting. The chamber is expected to extend its hybrid sittings through to June 29, including evening sessions up to midnight.
Two bills are near certain to pass: Bill C-30, the government's budget implementation legislation, and Bill C-12, which sets net-zero emissions targets. Both pieces of legislation have already been extensively studied by Senate committees, allowing for quick passage.
But Bill C-10, the controversial bill to regulate online platforms such as Netflix, has not been studied yet by senators. Sources say there is no appetite in the chamber to rush it through given its complexity, contentious nature and sweeping impact on the telecommunications industry.
Instead, the bill is likely to get a second reading vote but then wait for committee study, which could take place in the summer or fall. The committee stage is where expert witnesses testify and discuss issues around the legislation, and the majority of amendments are proposed and debated.
Bill C-6, which bans coerced conversion therapy, is in a similar position. The bill was passed by the House of Commons on Tuesday, but it was not studied in the Senate, meaning the only way it could pass by Tuesday is if senators agreed to fast-track it without full committee hearings.
Although sources say there is more support for fast-tracking Bill C-6, it's still unlikely to happen given concerns among some Conservatives that it could criminalize conversations with religious leaders. (The Liberals have repeatedly said this concern is misplaced, as only a conversion therapy program would be subject to the ban.)
Predicting Senate proceedings is difficult, as the Senate is no longer divided along clear partisan lines and no caucus has an outright majority. There are now four main groups: the Independent Senators Group, with 41 members; the Conservative caucus, with 20 members; the Progressive Senate Group, with 12 members; and the Canadian Senators Group, with 12 members. There is also a non-affiliated group of five senators and three independent senators.
But senators bristle when the government attempts to rush legislation through the chamber without allowing for a full study, especially bills that are likely to be later challenged in court.
Multiple senators have warned recently that while they've been willing to fasttrack urgent legislation related to the pandemic, they aren't willing to do so for other bills that aren't emergencies.
“There is an old Western Canadian saying that goes like this: `Your bad planning is not my emergency,'” said Sen. Scott Tannas, leader of the Canadian Senators Group, during Tuesday's debate.
In Wednesday's question period, Sen. Pamela Wallin sought a promise from the Senate government representative, Sen. Marc Gold, that he wouldn't be attempting to rush bills.
“The government's behaviour when it comes to forcing legislation forward has been particularly offensive,” Wallin said, referring to how Bill C-10 was amended in the House of Commons without the amendments being made public first. “Sen. Gold, can we please seek an assurance that when a government has had six years in office to present their legislation, they do not literally dump a bill on our doorstep at the 11th hour claiming it must be passed in mere hours?”
Gold responded that Bills C-10 and C-6 in particular are “important bills that require proper study.”
“You have my assurance and this government's assurance that we will continue to respect the important and legitimate role of the Senate, and of senators to give proper due consideration to government legislation,” Gold said.
Over the past few months, the Liberals and Conservatives have accused each other of holding up legislation in the House of Commons. “We have seen a level of obstructionism and toxicity in the House that is of real concern,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week, comments that hint at a possible upcoming election.
The Liberals point to the Conservatives using various procedural tactics to stall debate on bills, while the Conservatives say the Liberals delayed their own legislative agenda by proroguing Parliament last summer and taking too long to bring forward high priorities such as Bill C-6 for debate.
If an election is called before Parliament returns in September, any outstanding bills on the order paper would die and have to be reintroduced — if at all — after the election.