Liberals postpone Parliament until September

OTTAWA — The House of Commons full powers were pushed to the side Tuesday leaving parliament on the sidelines until September.

The house voted on the Liberals proposal to suspend full parliamentary sitting until September just before 8 p.m. and it passed the house with NDP support.

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 the COVID19 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.”