The House will likely rise by the end of this week, but the Senate will sit for as long as it takes to pass the massive, 900-page omnibus budget implementation bill which is currently in the Senate National Finance Committee, says the committee's Liberal chair, who also says the committee will give the bill full scrutiny. However, NDP critics say Bill C-9 will "absolutely not" receive the proper study if it is not split and returned to the House.

"If it's split, we can deal with the financial aspects a lot more quickly, but if it's not divided, we've pleaded with the government to divide it, we've pleaded with them to not require us to do what they should do, but they obviously have not heeded our pleas. This has been going on for many years, so I think there's an appetite in the Senate now to look at this bill the way we're expected to and not to just say, 'Well they didn't split so let's get out of here,'" Liberal New Brunswick Senator Joseph Day told The Hill Times last week.

The Senate passed a motion last week by Ontario Conservative Senator Irving Gerstein, deputy chair of the National Finance Committee, to allow the committee to sit at any time, even when the Senate as a whole is sitting, in order to pass Bill C-9 quickly. Sen. Day, who chairs the committee, said members will be sitting extensively to study the bill. "That's what we're looking at now," he said. "It may not be eight hours a day, but it will be extensive hearings everyday."

Ontario Progressive Conservative Senator Lowell Murray brought forward a motion last week in the Senate to instruct the committee to split the bill, however, and it will most likely be debated on Tuesday. If passed, the bill would be split into five parts and reported back to the Senate by various committees studying them: the first section would be a study of the financial aspects of the bill, for example, amendments to the Income Tax Act, the HST, Employment Insurance Financing and the Air Travellers Security Charge. The second section would be a study of the sale of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. The third would be on environmental assessment changes. The fourth would be on Canada Post and other issues. The fifth would be on pensions and among other items, the agreement on social security between Canada and Poland.

Marc Roy, communications director for Liberal Senate Leader Jim Cowan, said there is no overall strategy to either defeat or delay the bill, but Liberal Senators will wait to see what arguments Sen. Murray makes before supporting to split the bill or not.

The government has been criticized for introducing a budget implementation bill which has become an omnibus bill for not only financial matters, but issues which critics call "huge public policy changes." The Conservatives introduced Bill C-9 on March 29. The 904-page bill with 24 sections and 2,208 clauses received seven days of debate in the House at second reading and eight days of hearings at the House Finance Committee. The Finance Committee completed clause-by-clause study of the bill in one day and reported it back to the House on May 13 without amendments. The bill was passed at third reading on June 8 by a vote of 138 to 126—approximately 30 Liberal MPs sat out the vote in order not to defeat the bill, for which the party received criticism.

Liberal Deputy House Leader Marlene Jennings (Notre Dame de Grace-Lachine, Que.) and Liberal Whip Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton-Canso, N.S.) said last week that the move was warranted. "We voted against C-9. We clearly signalled our opposition to C-9. Did the government win the vote? Yes they did. If the NDP and the Bloc or anyone else wants to criticize Liberals, then I suggest they look at themselves in the mirror because the Bloc and the NDP formed an informal coalition with the Conservative Party back in 2005 to vote against the [Paul] Martin government, bringing us down knowing full well it meant the end to early childcare learning, daycare spaces, gender equity, employment equity, funding to groups like Cairos, to planned parenthood, to Match International," she said. "They did that knowing the Conservatives' ideological bent. So at least we're not hypocritical. They are."

Mr. Cuzner added: "We've been clear on our position to date and that's how we proceeded last [week]. We know there's criticism there. Bring the government down, there's criticism there too."

Bill C-9 was sent to the Senate National Finance Committee on June 10.

NDP MP Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh, Ont.) said that he has no hope that the bill will receive the study it deserves in the Senate, despite the moves to allow the committee to have full-day hearings. "We don't have any reason to believe that the Senate will, other than delay it for a day or two, will do anything. Obviously the Conservative Senators will push it through on direction from the Prime Minister's Office and we have absolutely no sense that [Michael] Ignatieff has told Liberal Senators to do anything different either to delay it or oppose it," he said. "I expect it to go through there in a day or two."

Although some Senators have been outspoken about the omnibus bill, Mr. Comartin said those voices are "very much in the minority, almost isolated" and the government will get away with trying to pass major changes to public policy without thoughtful debate and reporting.

Saskatchewan Conservative Senator David Tkachuk told The Hill Times last week that he doesn't believe the Senate will be successful in splitting Bill C-9. "I can't speak for everybody, but my view is we probably won't split the bill. But if we did, for sure we'd have to send it back to the House. That would be a confidence matter," he said. "My guess is because they'll be able to work long hours that they're going to finish this bill in a reasonable amount of time, and we'll be able to pass it before we leave for the summer. We're not leaving until it's done."

The Senate is not a confidence Chamber, however, so it's unclear how the government will judge the Upper Chamber's actions if it were to send the bill back to the House. The House would have to vote on the split bill, which is when it would be a confidence matter. If the House rejected the split bill, it could send it back as is to the Senate, at which point the Senate, through convention, would accept the House's decision. Both Sen. Tkachuk and Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski (Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre, Sask.), Parliamentary secretary to the government House leader, said the government would not accept a split bill.

Last week, there were rumours that the Senate would sit until at least July 7 to pass Bill C-9 before adjourning. Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate Gerald Comeau said during debate last week that the Senate would sit for as long as it takes the National Finance Committee to report the bill back. "I take note of, and appreciate, the sacrifice of members of the Finance Committee. However, I do not think honourable Senators should be under the illusion that this motion will be limited to members of the Finance Committee," he said, referring to Sen. Gerstein's motion. "If we decide to continue until July 31 or beyond, I can assure honourable Senators that not only will the Finance Committee sit, but the chamber itself will sit."

Sen. Day noted, however, that the government still needs to introduce and pass the implementation bills for the 2010-2011 main estimates and supplementary estimates before June 30 or else the bureaucracy will have no operating money.

Government House Leader Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River, B.C.) designated this Thursday, June 17, as the final opposition day in which the House will deal with the estimates and then send the bills to the Senate. Sen. Day said when those bills arrive, they will take priority over Bill C-9, but is not worried that if the budget bill does not get passed before June 30, there will be any problems for the contents in the bill.

"Financial matters are implemented when they're announced, or effective on an announced date and then legislation catches up to it, so I don't anticipate that there's anything in the bill that will cause any difficulties if the bill isn't passed a month ago," he said. "I'm much more interested in getting the job done properly than I am in any political games or other activities that might be going on. We're being given a job to do and I'd just like to do it properly."

The Hill Times

Week Ahead In Parliament

MONDAY, JUNE 14

• House debates Bill C-452, Inquiry Into Industry Sector at second reading.

• House votes on Bloc Québécois supply day motion on securities regulation.

• House has take note debate on multiple sclerosis.

• Senate National Finance Committee studies Bill C-9, Budget Implementation Bill.

• Senate Anti-terrorism Committee hears from Terror Threat author Dwight Hamilton.

• Senate National Security and Defence Committee continues study on the role of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan currently and post-2011 and hears from former Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan Chris Alexander.

• Senate Human Rights Committee studies Bill S-4, Matrimonial Real Property Rights Bill clause by clause.

• Senate Official Languages Committee studies English-speaking communities in Quebec and hears from the Quebec Community Groups Network.

• Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee continues study on the accessibility of post-secondary education in Canada.

• House Status of Women Committee meets in camera to discuss reports on maternal and child health and increasing the participation of women in non-traditional occupations.

TUESDAY, JUNE 15

• House debates Bill C-469, Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights at second reading.

• House debates the concurrence of the International Trade Committee report on the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement.

• Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee hears from Sustainable Chemistry Alliance president Murray McLaughlin for its study on the current and future state of Canada's forest sector.

• Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, Assisted Human Reproduction Canada president Elinor Wilson, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada president Alain Beaudet, Health Canada deputy minister Glenda Yeates and Chief Public Health Officer David Butler-Jones appear before the House Health Committee to discuss the department's supplementary estimates.

• House Industry Committee studies Bill C-14, Fairness at the Pumps Bill.

• House Transport Committee studies the impact of the government's deadline of March 31, 2011, for infrastructure stimulus projects and Dec. 31, 2010 for the completion of projects under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program and the Water and Wastewater Pipeline Renewal Program.

• House Subcommittee on Neurological Disease hears from Canadian Institutes of Health Research president Alain Beaudet.

• House subcommittee on International Human Rights continues study on human rights in Venezuela.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16

• House votes on the concurrence of the Citizenship and Immigration Committee report on the Citizenship Guidge.

• House debates Bill C-280, Qualification for and Entitlement to Benefits of EI, at report stage.

• House debates motion M-515, Older Workers.

• Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs studies the implementation of the New Veterans Charter.

• Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee hears from Chris Forbes, general director, federal-provincial relations and social policy branch, Finance Canada for its study on the accessibility of post-secondary education in Canada.

• Senate Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee hears from Liberal Senator Pierrette Ringuette who will discuss her bill, S-201, Credit and Debit Cards; and Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette who will discuss her bill, S-206, Gender Parity on Boards of Directors.

• Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs continues study on Bill S-6, Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Bill.

THURSDAY, JUNE 17

• Liberal opposition day.

• House votes on 2010-2011 main estimates.

• Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee continues study on Bill S-6, Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Bill.

FRIDAY, JUNE 18

• House debates Bill C-304, Secure, Adequate, Accessible and Affordable Housing Act, at report stage.

STATUS OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS

HOUSE OF COMMONS

• C-2 Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Bill (report).

• S-2 Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Bill (second reading).

• C-3 Gender Equity in Indian Registration Bill (report).

• S-3 Tax Conventions Implementation Bill (second reading).

• C-4 Youth Criminal Justice Act Amendments Bill (committee).

• C-5 International Transfer of Offenders Bill (second reading).

• S-5 Ensuring Safe Vehicles Imported from Mexico for Canadians Bill (second reading).

• C-8 Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement Bill (second reading).

• S-9 Auto Theft and Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime Bill (second reading).

• C-10 Senate Term Limits (second reading).

• C-11 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Amendments Bill (committee).

• C-12 Increasing Seats in the House of Commons Bill (second reading).

• C-13 Fairness for Military Families on Employment Insurance Bill (report).

• C-14 Fairness at the Pumps Bill (committee).

• C-15 Civil Liability and Compensation for Damage in Case of a Nuclear Incident (second reading).

• C-16 Restricting Conditional Sentences Bill (committee).

• C-17 Investigative Hearing and Recognizance with Conditions Bill (second reading).

• C-18 Increasing Voter Participation Bill (second reading).

• C-19 Accountability with Respect to Political Loans Bill (second reading).

• C-20 An Action Plan for the National Capital Commission Bill (committee).

• C-21 Sentencing for Fraud Bill (second reading).

• C-22 Mandatory Reporting of Internet Child Pornography by ISPs Bill (second reading).

• C-23 Reforming the Pardon System Bill (second reading).

• C-24 First Nations Certainty of Land Title (second reading).

• C-25 Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act Bill (second reading).

• C-26 Amendments to the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act and the International River Improvements Act (second reading).

• C-27 Canadian Wheat Board Bill (second reading).

• C-28 Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Bill (second reading).

• C-29 Safeguarding Canadians' Personal Information Bill (second reading).

• C-30 Response to the Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Shoker Bill (second reading).

• C-31 Eliminating Old Age Entitlements for Prisoners Bill (second reading).

• C-32 Copyright Bill (second reading).

• C-33 Railway Safety Amendments Bill (second reading).

• C-34 Museums Act Amendments Bill (second reading).

• C-35 Crooked Immigration Consultants Bill (second reading).

• C-36 Consumer Products Safety Bill (second reading).

• C-37 Citizenship Act Amendments Bill (second reading).

SENATE

• S-4 First Nations Matrimonial Rights Bill (committee).

• S-6 Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Bill (committee).

• S-7 Deterring Terrorism Bill (second reading).

• S-8 Selection of Senators Bill (second reading).

• C-9 2010-2011 Budget Implementation Bill (committee).

• S-10 Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Bill (second reading).

• S-11 Safety of Drinking Water on First Nation Lands (second reading).

ADOPTED/ROYAL ASSENT

• C-6 2009-2010 Supplementary Estimates C Implementation Bill.

• C-7 2010-2011 Interim Supply Implementation Bill.

—Updated to June 10