French language, web giants and Roxham Road: Important promised political projects were advanced during the parliamentary session which ended on Wednesday evening, before the announcement of a public inquiry into Chinese interference.
“It was a big session, it was fun! “, joked Tuesday the Minister of Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, who signed two of the fifteen Liberal bills adopted since the winter: C-11 on online broadcasting, and C-18 on revenue sharing between the giants. web and media.
His colleague, Gatineau MP and Liberal Whip Steven MacKinnon, called it “one of the most productive sessions in recent memory”; even the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, speaks of an “extraordinary” session in Parliament, in reference to his party’s contribution to major bills passed in the Commons, such as C-21, on firearms , which will however remain on the shelves of the Senate for the summer.
The Conservative Party of Canada joined all other parties in passing the Liberal modernization of the Official Languages Act (C-13), which received royal assent on Tuesday. “2023 is the year of official languages! “, released Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who snatched a compromise with the Government of Quebec to obtain its support for the text.
This spring, Quebec Premier François Legault boasted of the “very great victory” represented by the new agreement that Ottawa concluded with American President Joe Biden, and which put an end to the massive passage of asylum seekers. at Roxham Road in March.
interference is necessary
However, it is not these files that have caused the most ink to flow this winter and this spring, a period during which the debates in the House have been dominated by the theme of foreign interference. So much so that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the environment “toxic” in the Commons.
“That’s really it [le thème de l’ingérence chinoise] who dominated. Even if the other issues were important,” confirms the political scientist at the University of Ottawa, Geneviève Tellier.
She points out that a host of topics have been generally ignored for the benefit of this scandal, such as the postponement of the expansion of medical assistance in dying, the many changes expected for the justice system, the gaps in the protection of the environment and the rising cost of living. “It was forgotten a little because of Chinese interference,” concludes the observer of the federal political scene.
All week, the various opposition parties have returned to the charge to demand a new public inquiry into foreign interference, which they would have hoped to see before the end of the work, which finally occurred late Wednesday evening. The Bloc Québécois also announced on Wednesday that an agreement was within reach, and possible as early as this week.
The appointment of the special rapporteur and the publication of the Johnston report have never calmed the enthusiasm of the opposition parties to suspect the Liberal government of not taking the subject seriously. They were fed all winter with shocking revelations and testimonies, but were occasionally contradicted by government officials. The resignation on June 9 of the rapporteur David Johnston has returned the debate almost to square one.
“In my opinion, we should have [plus] highlight the issues that impact people, their daily lives,” agrees New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who notably praises the role of his party’s alliance with the Liberals in creating a national dental care program. , among other files “that help people”.
The parties are treading water
This first parliamentary session of 2023 ended with a sounding. Four by-elections have maintained the status quo: two Liberal victories, two Conservatives. The NDP vote meanwhile fell in all four, and the Liberals did better in the Ontario riding of Oxford (36.2%) than in the 2021 election (20.5%). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the opportunity to emphasize “how [son] positive message and the work that[il] is resonating across the country.”
“The numbers have been so stable in recent months,” also notes Philippe J. Fournier, author of the poll aggregation blog Qc125. “The needle does not move. The Tories didn’t go down under Poilievre, but they really didn’t go up. »
This finding saddens Conservative Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, who agreed on Wednesday that his party’s score in these by-elections “is disappointing for [son] left “. He says the challenge for conservatives is to develop an “optimistic view of the country”, and win over women and voters who aren’t already supporters.