Potential for marathon week for MPs in Ottawa
Posted June 10, 2012 1:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, ON (NEWS1130) – Opposition politicians throwing hundreds of amendments at the Conservatives’ omnibus budget bill are set to find out which ones are going to stick.
What could be a marathon week in the House of Commons begins tomorrow with the Speaker expected to decide how over 1,000 changes proposed to Bill C-38, the government’s budget implementation bill, will be dealt with in the House.
The 400-plus pages of legislation amends some 70 laws, including the process for environmental assessment and the rules around Old Age Security and Employment Insurance.
The government argues all legislation contained within the bill is to the economic benefit of the country, but critics say jamming so many major changes into a single bill means they aren’t getting the scrutiny they require.
But with a Conservative majority, the bill is set to pass, so all the Opposition parties have done is pull procedural rabbits out of their hats.
The New Democrats and the Liberals gave notice of over 1000 amendments looking to delete various clauses of the bill. Technically, a vote is required on each one, which could keep the Commons sitting around the clock for days.
Tomorrow the Liberals will try anew, asking for elements relating to fisheries, environmental assessment, EI and old age security removed and introduced as separate legislation. Meanwhile, since neither the Bloc Quebecois nor the Green Party had the ability to propose changes at committee, they have put forward their own suggestions in the Commons.
The Bloc wants 22 changes, while the Green Party is proposing 320 amendments.
Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan suggested the government may look at some of the proposed changes, but argued the lion’s share are merely procedural games.
“It appears to me that the Opposition is simply looking to delay our important job creating measures.”
To what extent the amendments will bog down the Commons is in the hands of Speaker Andrew Scheer. He has the ability to toss some or all of the amendments out. He could also bundle them together for votes.
The ruling on the amendments will set the stage for the week ahead.
