With MPs on the brink of a summer break, pressure is on Liberals to pass bills
With just a few days standing between MPs and summertime in their ridings, the pressure is on the federal Liberals clear their legislative priority list.
Facing questions about the swirling speculation around an early adjournment, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Tuesday that the minority Liberals have "lots of work yet to do."
With some chatter of MPs agreeing to pull the plug on this sitting of Parliament a few days early, MacKinnon said he didn't know yet how the rest of the week will play out.
"We have lots of things that we want to accomplish," MacKinnon said. "We set out a very ambitious set of objectives for this parliamentary session. We鈥檙e close to having met them. We鈥檙e not, unfortunately, yet at the finish line, but progress is being made every day."
The House of Commons is scheduled to adjourn this Friday, but before that happens the government still needs to pass the federal budget bill, which the Conservatives oppose but has the backing of the NDP.
There are also a few other pieces of legislation the Liberals have said they'd like to wrap up before leaving town until the fall.
What bills need to pass?
The biggest bill the government is looking to pass before week's end is Bill C-69, the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1. It is likely to be expedited through the remaining House stages shortly thanks to time allocation, and is already being pre-studied in the Senate.
The mammoth bill enacts much of what the federal Liberals promised in the latest budget, minus the capital gains tax change, which will essentially be enacted one week from now, despite the legislation not coming until the fall.
Related to the budget to some degree are a pair of must-pass routine spending bills, C-74 and C-75, that essentially provide the supply of funds government departments and agencies need to keep the lights on and programs running. They're both already in the Senate.
The other major item to keep an eye on is Bill C-70, the Countering Foreign Interference Act, which proposes a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, including a foreign agent registry.
MPs fast-tracked this bill through the Commons and it is now before senators, who have to balance the signal from MPs that they want to see it passed quickly with calls from civil-liberty groups for a more rigorous review.
MacKinnon said he is encouraging the upper chamber to pass this bill before the summer break, something the government's representative in the Senate is also anticipating.
Other bills that are close to fully passing are sustainable jobs Bill C-50, and the fall economic update implementation legislation Bill C-59, while the anti-scab Bill C-58 passed the Senate on Monday.
Health and labour stakeholders held a press conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning urging the Senate to also pass Bill C-64, the Pharmacare Act, before rising. This bill passed the House in early June.
Two items the government is also looking to pass in the House and get before the Senate this week are Bill C-40, the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act, and Bill C-26, the long-languishing legislation regarding industry cyber security.
There are other pieces of legislation that likely won't clear the Commons before MPs adjourn, and are unlikely to receive a last-minute all-party agreement as part of an early adjournment motion. These include Bill C-63, regarding online harms, and Bill C-65, which proposes a suite of electoral reforms, including a contentious proposal to push back the fixed election date.
The Senate is scheduled to stick around for up to a week later than MPs, giving them time to essentially triage and oversee the royal assent of any late-arrival priority bills from the House before they also wrap up their work for the season.
Conservatives want summer studies
Meanwhile, as the clock ticks down, the Conservatives are pushing for MPs to keep working on House of Commons committees through the summer to tackle problems they say are the prime minister's fault, from a rise in food bank usage, to the persisting housing crisis, and crime.
In a by Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer over the weekend setting up the strategy, the Official Opposition criticized Justin Trudeau for taking time off while Canadians are struggling, despite the scheduled break applying to all parliamentarians.
The video also put pressure on the self-described NDP "worker bees" to back them in their attempts to through July and August.
"Conservatives have launched a massive and coordinated effort 鈥 not seen before in the House of Commons 鈥 to ensure nearly 20 committees sit over the summer, forcing Liberals and their NDP costly coalition partners to keep working," Scheer said in a statement to 麻豆影视. So far, this effort
"Common sense Conservatives are ready to work through the summer for Canadians. The NDP have a clear choice to make 鈥 support everyday Canadians or take the side of their Liberal bosses and let Trudeau and his government off," Scheer said.
This is not the first time Poilievre's Conservatives have wanted to extend the work of MPs ahead of a prolonged break.
In December, the Conservatives threatened to delay MPs' holidays unless Trudeau backed off the carbon tax. After a marathon voting session, ultimately MPs did not miss any scheduled time in their ridings.
Last June, Poilievre also said his caucus was ready to work "all summer long," but in the end his party agreed to adjourn the spring sitting two days early.
Changing the House sitting schedule requires either all-party approval, or for Trudeau to seek an extension with good enough reason for the House Speaker to agree. However, at Commons committees, typically just a majority vote is needed to hold extra hearings.
After this week, the House of Commons isn't scheduled to resume until Monday, Sept. 16.
"We're almost there, a couple more sleeps," House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus told MPs as he sought to calm heckling between interjections in question period on Tuesday.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
Donald Trump has said he wouldn't be a dictator 鈥 'except for Day 1.' According to his own statements, he's got a lot to do on that first day in the White House.
'I was called;' Murray Sinclair's life and legacy honoured at emotional memorial
Applause erupted over and over at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg Sunday as the son of Murray Sinclair, a former judge, senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools, spoke about his father.
Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.
Children's book by chef Jamie Oliver withdrawn after criticism from Indigenous Australians
A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticized for causing offense to Indigenous Australians.
A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province鈥檚 police watchdog.
opinion How to transition from renting to owning a home in Canada
In his column for CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew offers a step-by-step guide on how to make the shift from renting to becoming a homeowner, and what you can start doing today to help the process go smoother.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced voters in Cloverdale鈥擫angley City will pick their next member of Parliament on Dec. 16.
Local Spotlight
Should Toronto tear up its bike lanes to improve traffic flow? Critics say it's not so simple
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.