Liberals down to last few weeks to get legislation through House
Other than the budget, none of the bills the Liberals are trying to get through the House of Commons were significant parts of the government’s platform.
OTTAWA — With only four weeks to go before the summer break, the Trudeau government is pushing against a ticking legislative clock to get a handful of bills through the House of Commons before a looming recess.
MPS returned to the House Monday for four final sitting weeks, with the House set to rise on June 23 and not return until Sept. 18. The last few weeks of a spring session are typically hectic for governments as they rush to get legislation through the House before the extended break.
Mark Kennedy, a spokesperson for Government House leader Mark Holland, said they have already been pleased with what the Commons has passed so far.
“We have seen the House of Commons pass important bills — including firearms legislation to tackle gun violence, reform of the Official Languages Act, and advancing Indigenous self-determination and economic reconciliation,” Kennedy said.
He added that the bill implementing this year’s budget is a priority, as is a modernization of environmental protection legislation and legislation that would update foreign investment rules.
“As we head into the last few weeks of the spring sitting, we are determined to work with other parties to pass many more important bills,” Kennedy said. “The Government House leader will be in discussions with his counterparts this week about how all parties can work together in the remaining weeks of the sitting to pass legislation for Canadians.”
A source in Holland’s office said the government would also like to pass legislation making it easier to deny entry into Canada to people who face international sanctions, as well as a bill designed to create a process for people who are wrongly convicted of crimes to appeal.
Other than the budget, none of the bills the Liberals are trying to get through the House of Commons were significant parts of the government’s platform.
Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer said the Liberals’ entire agenda is an attempt to consolidate power.
“The Trudeau Liberals are ramming their bigger deficits, bigger government and bigger-price-tags-for-canadians agenda through the House of Commons,” he said. “New controls over the internet, limits on free speech and the coverup over Beijing’s interference have drastically increased Trudeau’s grip on power.”
Many of the Liberals’ bills have already been moved over to the Senate, including C-18, the government’s online news bill, as well as changes to the Official Languages Act and C-21, the Liberal firearm bill.
The online news legislation and official language changes were pre-studied in the Senate, increasing the likelihood they could be sent back to the House before the summer recess. The firearms bill only recently arrived in the Senate and could take much more time.
Sen. Marc Gold, the government’s representative in the Senate, said he is working with his colleagues and that, as is practice, government bills will be given priority.