(OTTAWA) Conservatives say the prime minister is seeking to build ‘an audience, not an opposition’ following the government’s tabling of rule changes that would allow for midnight business meetings until the end of the spring session.
Posted at 8:33 p.m.
On the government side, it is argued that the proposal – known as Motion 11 – would simply organize the business of the House of Commons before the summer adjournment on June 23.
Conservative leader John Brassard, however, believes that extending sitting hours at the last minute will have “significant consequences” for parliamentary staff, including interpreters and other employees.
On this subject, the Minister of Justice David Lametti assures that the meetings will be extended only if this proves to be necessary to facilitate the debates on important bills before the summer adjournment.
Minister Lametti pointed out that MPs spent 12 days debating the bill to implement certain elements of last fall’s economic update. A bill tabled in December.
If passed, this bill will provide tax credits to companies that have improved the air quality and ventilation of their premises; increase the tax credit for the purchase of school supplies by teachers; and create a fuel tax credit for farm businesses in provinces that apply federal carbon pricing. This bill was passed at report stage on Monday.
During a debate on Monday, Minister Lametti said the government would ensure that parliamentary staff would be informed well in advance of extended working days. He added that the government is attentive to the health and safety needs of staff.
The government’s motion, tabled last week, would allow an extension of work to be announced at any time before 6:30 p.m., the scheduled end of the day.
Last week, David Lametti addressed a Senate committee about a bill that would allow courts to make greater use of virtual hearings, including to question witnesses and prospective jurors, due to the COVID pandemic. -19.
He said he wanted to introduce the bill in the Senate first in a bid to try to speed its passage since too many bills are currently clogging up work in the Commons.
“Can you imagine what will happen when we get to the budget? asked the minister. “We’re doing this to facilitate debate because of the Conservative Party’s stonewalling tactics. »
Bloc Québécois parliamentary leader Alain Therrien replied that the government is weakening democracy with the complicity of the NDP.
In turn, NDP leader Peter Julian pleaded that the Conservatives had been trying to block the progress of all bills for months “without providing explanations”.
It seems that the NDP will support the government’s motion even though it is not part of the terms of the support and confidence agreement concluded between the two parties.
“What the NDP has done by signing this agreement with the Liberals is to give Justin Trudeau exactly what he has wanted for the past six and a half years: an audience and not an opposition,” decried John Brassard.
At the same time, in the Senate, the government representative tabled a motion to continue work in a hybrid formula due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Marc Gold assured that this was not government policy, but simply to exercise caution “out of concern for the health and safety of senators, their families and staff. »
For other senators, it would rather be another maneuver to avoid accountability. The hours of work in the Senate have been reduced and the number of committee meetings has been reduced under the hybrid formula.
Some pointed out that the public galleries are open in the Senate and that the majority of provinces have ended key health measures.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Donald Plett, said he felt that he and his colleagues were “failing to fulfill their duty as senators”.
“Treating the Senate as if it were a long-term care facility is an insult to taxpayers and to the constitutional importance of a senator’s role,” Plett said during a debate. .
The debate will continue on Tuesday.